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BEOWULF 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

C.  F.  CLAY,  Manager 

LONDON  :  FETTER  LANE,  E.C.4 


NEW  YORK   :   THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 

BOMBAY        \ 

CALCUTTA   }   MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 

MADRAS       J 

TORONTO:  THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF 

CANADA,  Ltd. 
TOKYO  :  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISflA 


ALL  BIGHTS  KESERVED 


PLATE  I 


BEOWULF 

AN  INTRODUCTION^  TO  THE  STUDY  OF 

THE  POEM  WITH  A  DISCUSSION  OF 

THE  STORIES  OF  OFFA  AND  FINN 


BY 

K.  W.  CHAMBEES 


Dey  mout  er  bin  two  deloojes:  en  den  agin  dey  moutent. 

Uncle  Remus,  The  Story  of  the  Deluge. 


CAMBRIDGE 

AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1921 


^ 


lil^ 


9-77- 


TO 
PROF.  WILLIAM  WITHERLE  LAWRENCE 

Dear  Prof.  Lawrence, 

WheD,  more  than  four  years  ago,  I  asked  you  to  allow  me  to 
dedicate  this  volume  to  you,  it  was  as  a  purely  personal  token  of  gratitude 
for  the  help  I  had  received  from  what  you  have  printed,  and  from  what 
you  have  written  to  me  privately. 

Since  then  much  has  happened:  the  debt  is  greater,  and  no  longer 
purely  personal.  We  in  this  country  can  never  forget  what  we  owe  to 
your  people.  And  the  self-denial  which  led  them  voluntarily  to  stint 
themselves  of  food,  that  we  in  Europe  might  be  fed,  is  one  of  many  things 
about  which  it  is  not  easy  to  speak.  Our  heart  must  indeed  have  been 
hardened  if  we  had  not  considered  the  miracle  of  those  loaves.  But  I  fear 
that  to  refer  to  that  great  debt  in  the  dedication  to  this  little  book  may 
draw  on  me  the  ridicule  incurred  by  the  poor  man  who  dedicated  his  book 
to  the  Universe. 

Nevertheless,  as  a  fellow  of  that  College  which  has  just  received  from 
an  American  donor  the  greatest  benefaction  for  medical  research  which 
has  ever  been   made  in  this  country  of  ours,  I  may  rejoice  that  the 
co-operation  between  our -nations  is  being  continued  in  that  warfare  against 
ignorance  and  disease  which  sojne  day  will  become  the  only  warfare 
waged  among  men. 
-£jt  U  *  ^  -    Sceal  hring-naca        ofer  heafu  bringan 
lac  ond  luf-t9,cen.       Ic  ])a  leode  wat 
ge  wis  feond  ge  wiS  freond        fseste  geworhte, 
seghwses  untsele        ealde  wisan. 

R.  W.  C, 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  to  ttank  various  colleagues  who  have  read  proofs  of  this 
book,  in  whole  or  in  part:  first  and  foremost  my  old  teacher, 
W.  P.  Ker;  also  Robert  Priebsch,  J.  H.  G.  Grattan,  Ernest  Classen 
and  two  old  students.  Miss  E.  V.  Hitchcock  and  Mrs  Blackman. 
I  have  also  to  thank  Prof.  W.  W.  Lawrence  of  Columbia;  and 
though  there  are  details  where  we  do  not  agree,  I  think  there  is 
no  difference  upon  any  important  issues.  If  in  these  details  I  am 
in  the  right,  this  is  largely  due  to  the  helpful  criticism  of  Prof. 
Lawrence,  which  has  often  led  me  to  reconsider  my  conclusions, 
and  to  re-state  them  more  cautiously,  and,  I  hope,  more  correctly. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  in  the  wrong,  then  it  is  thanks  to 
Prof.  Lawrence  that  I  am  not  still  more  in  the  wrong. 

From  Axel  Olrik,  though  my  debt  to  him  is  heavy,  I  find 
myself  differing  on  several  questions.  I  had  hoped  that  what  I 
had  to  urge  on  some  of  these  might  have  convinced  him,  or,  better 
still,  might  have  drawn  from  him  a  reply  which  would  have 
convinced  me.  But  the  death  of  that  great  scholar  has  put  an 
end  to  many  hopes,  and  deprived  many  of  us  of  a  warm  personal 
friend.  It  would  be  impossible  to  modify  now  these  passages 
expressing  dissent,  for  the  early  pages  of  this  book  were  printed 
off  some  years  ago.  I  can  only  repeat  that  it  is  just  because  of 
my  intense  respect  for  the  work  of  Dr  Olrik  that,  where  I  cannot 
agree  with  his  conclusions,  I  feel  bound  to  go  into  the  matter  at 
length.  Names  Hke  those  of  Olrik,  Bradley,  Chadwick  and  Sievers 
carry  rightly  such  authority  as  to  make  it  the  duty  of  those  who 
differ,  if  only  on  minor  details,  to  justify  that  difference  if  they 
can. 

From  Dr  Bradley  especially  I  have  had  help  in  discussing 
various  of  these  problems :  also  from  Mr  Wharton  of  the  British 
Museum,  Prof.  ColUn  of  Christiania,  Mr  Ritchie  Girvan  of  Glasgow, 
and  Mr  Teddy.  To  Prof.  Brogger,  the  Norwegian  state-antiquary, 
I  am  indebted  for  permission  to  reproduce  photographs  of  the 


viii  Preface 

Viking  ships :  to  Prof.  Finnur  Jonsson  for  permission  to  quote 
from  his  most  useful  edition  of  the  Hrolfs  Saga  and  the  BjarJca 
Rimur,  and,  above  all,  to  Mr  Sigf  lis  Blondal,  of  the  Koyal  Library 
of  Copenhagen,  for  his  labour  in  collating  with  the  manuscript 
the  passages  quoted  from  the  Grettis  Saga. 

Finally,  I  have  to  thank  the  Syndics  of  the  University  Press 
for  undertaking  the  pubKcation  of  the  book,  and  the  staff  for  the 
efficient  way  in  which  they  have  carried  out  the  work,  in  spite 
of  the  long  interruption  caused  by  the  war. 

K.  W.  C. 

April  6,  1921. 


CONTENTS 

PAOS 

GENEALOGICAL  TABLES xii 

PART  I 

CHAPTER  I.  THE  HISTORICAL  ELEMENTS 

Section      I.  The  Problem 1 

Section     II.   The  Geatas — their  Kings  and  their  Wars          .         .  2 

Section  III.  Heorot  and  the  Danish  Kings         ....  13 

Section   IV.   Leire  and  Heorot 16 

Section     V.  The  Heathobeardan 20 

Section   VT.  HrothuK 26 

Section  Vn.  King  Offa 31 

CHAPTER  II.  THE  NON-HISTORICAL  ELEMENTS 

Section      I.  The  Grendel  Fight 41 

Section    II.  The  Scandinavian  Parallels — ^Grettir  and  Orm   .         .  48 

Section  III.  Bothvar  Bjarki 54 

Section   IV.   Parallels  from  Folklore 62 

Section     V.  Scef  and  Scyld .68 

Section   VI.  Beow 87 

Section  VII.  The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels — Heremod- 

Lotherus  and  Beowulf-Frotho        ....  89 

^-  CHAPTER  III.  THEORIES  AS  TO  THE  ORIGIN, 
DATE  AND  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  POEM 

r^  Section      I.   Is     Beowulf     translated     from     a     Scandinavian 

^  .,  /                         original? 98 

(jv^     Section     II.   The    dialect,    syntax    and    metre    of    Beowulf    as 

^                                 evidence  of  its  literary  history        ....  104 

Section  IIL  Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  Beowulf  .         ,         .  112 
Section   IV.   Are  the  Christian  elements  incompatible  with  the  rest 

of  the  poem?        .......  121 


Contents 


PART  II 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTKATING  THE  STOEIES  IN 
BEOWULF,  AND  THE  OFFA-BAGA 

PAGE 

A.  The  early  Kings  of  the  Danes,  according  to  Saxo  Grammaticus: 
Dan,  Humblus,  Lotherus  and  Scioldus;  Frotho's  dragon  fight; 
Haldanus,  Roe  and  Helgo;  Roluo  (Rolf  Kraki)  and  Biarco 
(Bjarki);  the  death  of  Rolf 129 

B.  Extract  from  Hrdlfs  Saga  Kraka,  with  translation  (cap.  23)       .      138 

C.  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga,  with  translation:  (a)  Glam  episode 
(caps.  32-35);  (6)  Sandhaugar  episode  (caps.  64-66)  .         .146 

D.  Extracts  from  Bjarka  Rimur,  with  translation  .         .         .182 

E.  Extract  from  pdttr  Orms  Stordlfssonar,  with  translation  .  .  186 
E.  A  Danish  Dragon-slaying  of  the  Beowulf- type,  with  translation  192 
G.   The  Old  EngUsh  Genealogies.  I.  The  Mercian  Genealogy.  II.  The 

stages  above  Woden:  Woden  to  Geat  and  Woden  to  Sceaf        .       195 

H.  Extract  from  the  Chronicle  Roll 201 

I.    Extract  from  the  Little  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire    .         .      204 
K.  The  Story  of  Offa  in  Saxo  Grammaticus  ....      206 

L.   Erom  Skiold  to  Offa  in  Sweyn  Aageson  .         .         .         .211 

M.  Note  on  the  Danish  Chronicles       .         .         .         .         .         .215 

N.  The  Life  of  Offa  7,  with  extracts  from  the  Life  of  Offa  11.  Edited 

from  two  Mss  in  the  Cottonian  Collection  .  .  .  .217 
O.   Extract  from  Widsith,  11.  18,  24-49 243 


Section 

I. 

Section 

II. 

Section 

III. 

Section 

IV. 

Section 

V. 

Section 

VI. 

Section 

VII. 

Section  VIH. 

Section 

IX. 

PART  III 

*^THE  FIGHT  AT  FINNSBUKG 

The  Finnshurg  Fragment      .....  245 

The  Episode  in  Beowulf 248 

MoUer's  Theory 254 

Bugge's  Theory 257 

Some  Difficulties  in  Bugge's  Theory      .         .         .  260 

Recent  Elucidations.   Prof.  Ayres'  Comments         .  266 

Problems  stiU  outstanding  .         .         :         .         .  268 
TheWeightof  Proof:  the  Eotens.         .         .         .272 

Ethics  of  the  Blood  Feud 276 


/ 


Contents  xi 

PAGE 

Section     X.   An  Attempt  at  Reconstruction      ....  283 

Section   XI.   Gefwulf,  Prince  of  the  Jutes.         ....  286 

Section  XII.   Conclusion           .......  287 

Note.  Frisia  in  the  heroic  age         ....  288 

PART  IV 

APPENDIX 

A.  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowvlf.  (1)  Beowulf  the  Scylding 

and  Beowulf  son  of  Ecgtheow.   (2)   Beow        .         .         .         .291 

B.  Grendel       .         . 304 

C.  The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy    .         .311 
/  D.  Grammatical  and  literary  evidence  for  the  4ate  of  Beowvlf.  The 

^         relation  of  Beowulf  to  the  Classical  Epic    ^-""^       .         .         .  322 

E.  The  "Jute- question"  reopened 333 

F.  Beowulf  and  the  Archaeologists      .         .         .         .         .         .  345  ( 

G.  Leire  before  Rolf  Kraki 365 

H.  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 365 

I.    The  date  of  the  death  of  Hygelac  ......  381 

BIBLIOGEAPHY  OF  BEOWULF  AND  FINNSBURG  383 

INDEX 414 


PLATES 

PLATE 

L   Drida  (Thryth)  reproached  for  her  Evil  Deeds  frontispiece 

II.   Leire  in  the  Seventeenth  Century     .  .  .to  face     16 

III.  Ofifa,  miraculously  restored,  vindicates  his  Right. 

At  the  side,  Offa  is  represented  in  Prayer  .        „     „         34 

IV.  Drida  (Thryth)  arrives  in  the  land  of  King  Offa, 

"in  nauicula  armamentis  carente"     .  .  •        „     „         36 

V.  Riganus  (or  Aliel)  comes  before  King  Warmundus 
to  claim  that  he  should  be  made  King  in  place  of 
the  incompetent  Offa      .  .  .  .  .        „     „       218 

VI.   Drida  (Thryth)  entraps  Albertus  (^Ethelberht)  of 

East  Anglia,  and  causes  him  to  be  slain      .  .        „     „       242 

VII.   The  Gokstad  Ship.    The  Oseberg  Ship         .  .        „     „       362 

Vni.   Southern  Scandinavia  in  the  Sixth  Century. 

English  Boar-Helmet  and  Ring-Swords        .  .        »     „  At  end 


i 


Xll 


GENEALOGICAL  TABLES 

The  names  of  the  corresponding  characters  in  Scandinavian  legend  are 
added  in  italics;  first  the  Icelandic  forms,  then  the  Latinized  names  as 
recorded  by  Saxo  Grammaticus. 

(1)  THE  DANISH  ROYAL  FAMILY 

Scyld  Scefing  [SkjoldVy  Skyoldi^s] 

Beowulf  [not  the  hero  of  the  poem] 
Healfdene  [Halfdan,  HaJdanus] 


s; 


Heorogar 
[no  Scandinavian 
parallel] 

Heoroweard        HretSric 
[Hjgrvard'r,  Hiar-  [Hraerekr, 
warns:  bvt  not    Bjiricus  :  not 
recognized  as  he-   recognized 
longing  to  this    as  a  son  of 
family]  Hroarr] 


HroSgar  {Hroarr^,  Roe]y 
mar.  Wealh}?eow 


Halga  [Hdgi, 
Hdgo] 


a  daughter 
iSigny] 


HrotSmund 


Freawaru 
mar. 
Ingeld 


HroSulf 
[Hrdlfr 
Kraki, 
Roliko] 


(2)  THE  GEAT  ROYAL  FAMILY 
HretSel  W^gmund 


Herebeald    HseScyn  Hygelac,  mar.  Hygd  a  daughter,  mar.  Ecgjjcow  Weohstan 

Beowulf  Wiglaf 


a  daughter, 
mxir.  Eofor 


Heardred 


(3)  THE  SWEDISH  ROYAL  FAMILY 
Ongenheow 


Onela 

[An,  not  recognized 

as  belonging  to  this 

family] 


Ohthere  [6ttarr] 


Eanmund 


Eadgils 
[A&ils^,  Athislus] 


1  The  exact  equivalent  to  Hroffgar  is  found  in  O.N.,  in  theioTmHroffgeirr. 
The  by-form  Hroarr,  which  is  used  of  the  famous  Danish  king,  is  due  to  a  number 
of  rather  irregular  changes,  which  can  however  be  paralleled.  The  Primitive 
Germanic  form  of  the  name  would  have  been  *Hrdpugaisaz :  for  the  loss  of  the  g 
at  the  beginning  of  the  second  element  we  may  compare  A&ils  with  Eadgils 
(Noreen,  Altisldndische  Grammatik,  1903,  §  223);  for  the  loss  of  ff  before  w  com- 
pare Hrdlfr  with  Hroffwulf  (Noreen,  §  222);  for  the  absence  of  R-  umlaut  in  the 
second  syllable,  combined  with  loss  of  the  g,  compare  O.N,  nafarr  with  O.E. 
nafugdr  (Noreen,  §  69). 

2  Corresponding  to  O.N.  A&ils  we  should  expect  O.E.  Mffgils,  jE&gisl.  The 
form  Eadgils  may  be  due  to  confusion  with  the  famous  Eadgils,  king  of  the 
Myrgingas,  who  is  mentioned  in  Widsith.  The  name  comes  only  once  in  Beowulf 
(1.  2392)  and  may  owe  its  form  there  to  a  corruption  of  the  scribe.  That  the  O.E. 
form  is  corrupt  seems  more  likely  than  that  the  O.N.  Ad'ils,  so  well  known  and  so 
frequently  recorded,  is  a  corruption  of  AuSgisl. 


PART  I 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

Section  I.    The  Problem. 

The  unique  ms  of  Beowulf  may  be,  and  if  possible  should 
be,  seen  by  the  student  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  a  good 
specimen  of  the  elegant  script  of  Anglo-Saxon  times :  "  a  book 
got  up  with  some  care,"  as  if  intended  for  the  library  of  a 
nobleman  or  of  a  monastery.  Yet  this  ms  is  removed  from  the 
date  when  the  poem  was  composed  and  from  the  events  which 
it  narrates  (so  far  as  these  events  are  historic  at  all)  by  periods 
of  time  approximately  equal  to  those  which  separate  us  frojii 
the  time  when  Shakespeare's  Henry  V  was  written,  and  when 
the  battle  of  Agincourt  was  fought. 

To  try  to  penetrate  the  darkness  of  the  five  centuries  which 
lie  behind  the  extant  ms  by  fitting  together  such  fragments  of 
illustrative  information  as  can  be  obtained,  and  by  using  the 
imagination  to  bridge  the  gaps,  has  been  the  business  of  three 
generations  of  scholars  distributed  among  the  ten  nations  of 
Germanic  speech.  A  whole  hbrary  has  been  written  around 
our  poem,  and  the  result  is  that  this  book  cannot  be  as  simple 
as  either  writer  or  reader  might  have  wished. 

The  story  which  the  MS  tells  us  may  be  summarized  thus: 
Beowulf,  a  prince  of  the  Geatas,  voyages  to  Heorot,  the  hall  of 
Hrothgar,  king  of  the  Danes;  there  he  destroys  a  monster 
Grendel,  who  for  twelve  years  has  haunted  the  hall  by  night 
and  slain  all  he  found  therein.  When  Grendel's  mother  in 
revenge  makes  an  attack  on  the  hall,  Beowulf  seeks  her  out 
and  kills  her  also  in  her  home  beneath  the  waters.     He  then 

C.  B.  1 


2  Tue  Problem  [CH.  i 

returns  to  his  land  with  honour  and  is  rewarded  by  his  king 
Hygelac.  Ultimately  he  himself  becomes  king  of  the  Geatas, 
and  fifty  years  later  slays  a  dragon  and  is  slain  by  it.  The 
poem  closes  with  an  account  of  the  funeral  rites. 

Fantastic  as  these  stories  are,  they  are  depicted  against 
a  background  of  what  appears  to  be  fact.  Incidentally,  and  in 
a  number  of  digressions,  we  receive  much  information  about 
the  Geatas,  Swedes  and  Danes :  all  which  information  has  an 
appearance  of  historic  accuracy,  and  in  some  cases  can  be 
proved,  from  external  evidence,  to  be  historically  accurate. 


Section  II.    The  Geatas — their  Kings  and  their  Wars. 

Beowulf's  people  have  been,  identified  with  many  tribes : 
but  there  is  strong  evidence  that  the  Geatas  are  the  Gotar 
(O.N.  Gautar),  the  inhabitants  of  what  is  now  a  portion  of 
Southern  Sweden,  immediately  to  the  south  of  the  great  lakes 
Wener  and  Wetter.  The  names  Geatas  and  Gautar  correspond 
exactly^,  according  to  the  rules  of  O.E.  and  O.N.  phonetic 
development,  and  all  we  can  ascertain  of  the  Geatas  and  of 
the  Gautar  harmonizes  well  with  the  identification^. 

We  know  of  one  occasion  only  when  the  Geatas  came  into 
violent  contact  with  the  world  outside  Scandinavia.  Putting 
together  the  accounts  which  we  receive  from  Gregory  of  Tours 
and  from  two  other  (anonymous)  writers,  we  learn  that  a 
piratical  raid  was  made  upon  the  country  of  the  Atuarii  (the 
O.E.  netware)  who  dwelt  between  the  lower  Rhine  and  what  is 
now  the  Zuyder  Zee,  by  a  king  whose  name  is  spelt  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  all  of  which  readily  admit  of  identification  with  that 
of  the  Hygelac  of  our  poem^.  From  the  land  of  the  Atuarii 
this  king  carried  much  spoil  to  his  ships;  but,  remaining  on 
shore,  he  was  overwhelmed  and  slain  by  the  army  which  the 

^  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  sound  changes  of  the  Germanic  dialects 
have  been  worked  out  so  minutely  that  it  is  nearly  always  possible  to  decide 
quite  definitely  whether  two  names  do  or  do  not  exactly  correspond.  Only 
occasionally  is  dispute  possible  [e.g.  whether  Hrothgar  is  or  is  not  phonetically 
the  exact  equivalent  of  Hroarr]. 

2  See  below,  pp.  8-10. 

*  Chochilaicus,  which  appears  to  be  the  correct  form,  corresponds  to  Hygelac ' 
(in  the  primitive  form  Hugilaikaz)  as  Chlodovechus  to  Hludovicus. 


SECT.ii]     Tlie  Geatas — their  Kings  and  their  Wars         3 

Frankish  king  Theodoric  had  sent  under  liis  son  to  the  rescue 
of  these  outlying  provinces;  the  plunderers'  fleet  was  routed 
and  the  booty  restored  to  the  country.  The  bones  of  this 
gigantic  king  of  the  "Getae"  [presumably  =  Geatas]  were  long 
preserved,  it  was  said,  on  an  island  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine; 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  raid,  so  far  as  we  can  reconstruct 
it  from  monkish  Latin  sources.  The  precise  date  is  not  given, 
but  it  must  have  been  between  a.d.  512  and  520. 

Now  this  disastrous  raid  of  Hygelac  is  referred  to  constantly 
in  Beowulf:  and  the  mention  there  of  Hetware,  Franks  and  the 
Merovingian  king  as  the  foes  confirms  an  identification  which 
would  be  satisfactory  even  without  these  additional  data^. 

Our  authorities  are: 

(1)  Gregory  of  Tours  (d.  §94): 

His  ita  gestis,  Dani  cum  rege  suo  nomine  Chlochilaico  evectu  nuvale 
per  mare  Gallias  appetuni.  Egressique  ad'  terras,  pagum  unum  de  regno 
Theudorici  devastant  atque  captivant,  oneratisque  navibiis  tam  de  captivis 
quam  de  reliquis  spoliis,  reverti  ad  patriam  cupiunt ;  sed  rex  eorum  in 
litus  resedebat  donee  naves  alto  mare  conpraehenderent,  ipse  deinceps 
secuturus.  Quod  cum  Theudorico  nuntiatum  fuisset,  quod  scilicet  regio 
ejus  fuerit  ab  extraneis  devastata,  Theudobertum,  filium  suum,  in 
illis  partibus  cum  valido  exercitu  et  magno  armorum  apparatu  direxit. 
Qui,  interfecto  rege,  hostibu^  navali  proelio  superatis  opprimit,  omnemque 
rapinam  terrae  restituit. 

The  name  of  the  vanquished  king  is  spelt  in  a  variety  of  ways: 
Chlochilaichum,  Chrochilaicho,  Chlodilaichum,  Hrodolaicum. 

See  Gfegorii  episcopi  Turonensis  Historia  Francorum,  p.  110,  in 
Monumenta  Oermaniae  Historica  {Scriptores  rerum  merovingicarum,  I). 

(2)  The  Liber  Historiae  Francorum  (commonly  called  the  Gesta 
Francorum) : 

In  illo  tempore  Dani  cum  rege  suo  nomine  Chochilaico  cum  navale 
hoste  per  alto  mare  Gallias  appetent,  Theuderico  paygo  [i.e.  pagum} 
Atioarios  vel  alios  devastantes  atque  captivantes  plenas  naves  de  captivis 
alto  mare  intr antes  rex  eorum  ad  litus  maris  resedens.  Quod  cum 
Theuderico  nuntiatum  fuisset,  Theudobertum  filium  suum  cum  magno 
exercitu  in  illis  partibus  dirigens.  Qui  consequens  eos,  pugnavit  cum 
eis  caede  magna  atque  prostravit,  regem  eorum  interficit,  preda  tullit,  et 
in  terra  sua  restituit. 

The  Liber  Historiae  Francorum  was  written  in  727,  but  although 
so  much  later  than  Gregory,  it  preserves  features  which  are  wanting 
^     in  the  earlier  historian,  such  as  the  mention  of  the  Hetware  (Attoarii).  ■ 
Note  too  that  the  name  of  the  invading  king  is  given-  in  a  form  which 

1  The  passaj^es  in  JSeot^wZ/ referring  to  this  expedition  are: 

1202  etc\    Frisians  (adjoining  the  Hetware)  and  Franks  mentioned  as 

the    oes. 
2354  etc.     Hetware  mentioned. 

2501  etc.     Hugas  (=  Franks)  and  the  Frisian  king  mentioned. 
2914  etc.     Franks,  Frisians,  Hugas,  Hetware  and  "the  Merovingian" 

mentioned. 

•^v  1—2 


4  The  Geatas—  [ch.  i 

approximates  more  closely  to  Hygelac  than  that  of  any  of  the  mss  of 
Gregory:    variants  are  Chrochilaico,  Chohilaico,  Chochilago,  etc. 

See  Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica  {Scriptores  rerum  merovingi- 
caruniy  II,  274). 

(3)  An  anonymous  work  On  monsters  and  strange  beasts,  appended 
to  two  MSS  of  Phaedrus. 

Et  sunt  {monstral  mirae  magnitudinis  :  ut  rex  Huiglaucus  qui 
imperavit  Oetis  et  a  Francis  occisus  est.  Quern  equus  a  duodecimo 
anno  portare  non  potuit.  Cujus  ossa  in  Reni  fiuminis  insula,  uhi  in 
Oceanum  prorumpit,  reservata  sunt  et  de  longinquo  venientibus  pro 
miraculo  ostenduntur. 

This  treatise  was  first  printed  (from  a  MS  of  the  tenth  century,  in 
private  possession)  by  J.  Berger  de  Xivrey  [Traditions  teratologiques, 
Paris,  1836,  p.  12).  It  was  again  published  from  a  second  MS  at 
Wolfenbiittel  by  Haupt  (see  his  Opuscula  ii,  223,  1876).  This  MS  is 
in  some  respects  less  accurate,  reading  Huncglacus  for  Huiglaucus,. 
and  gentes  for  Oetis.  The  treatise  is  assigned  by  Berger  de  Xivrey 
to  the  sixth  century,  on  grounds  which  are  hardly  conclusive  (p.  xxxiv). 
Haupt  would  date  it  not  later  than  the  eighth  century  (n,  220). 

The  importance  of  this  reference  lies  in  its  describing  Hygelac  as 
king  of  the  Getae,  and  in  its  fixing  the  spot  where  his  bones  were 
preserved  as  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine ^. 

(^  But  if  Beowulf  is  supported  in  this  matter  by  what  is  almost 
contemporary  evidence  (for  Gregory  of  Tours  was  born  only 
some  twenty  years  after  the  raid  he  narrates)  we  shall  probably 
be  right  in  arguing  that  the  other  stories  from  the  history  of 
the  Geatas,  their  Danish  friends,  and  their  Swedish  foes,  told 
with  what  seems  to  be  such  historic  sincerity  in  the  different 
digressions  of  our  poem,  are  equally  based  on  fact.  True,  we 
have  no  evidence  outside  Beowulf  for  Hygelac's  father,  king 
Hrethel,  nor  for  Hygelac's  elder  brothers,  Herebeald  and 
Haethcyn;  and  very  Kttle  for  Hsethcyn's  deadly,  foe,  the 
Swedish  king  Ongentheow^. 

And  in  the  last  case,  at  any  rate,  such  evidence  might 

^  The  identification  of  Chochilaicus  with  Hygelac  is  the  most  important 
discovery  ever  made  in  the  study  of  Beoumlf,  and  the  foimdation  of  our  belief 
in  the  historic  character  of  its  episodes.  It  is  sometimes  attributed  to  Grundt- 
vig,  sometimes  to  Outzen.  It  was  first  vaguely  suggested  by  Grundtvig  (Nyeste 
Skilderie  af  Kjtj^benhavn,  1815,  col.  1030) :  the  importance  of  the  identification 
was  worked  out  by  him  fully,  two  years  later  {Danne-Virke,  n,  285).  In  the 
meantime  the  passage  from  Gregory  had  been  quoted  by  Outzen  in  his  review 
of  Thorkelin's  Beovmlf  (Kieler  Blatter,  m,  312).  Outzen's  reference  was  ob- 
viously made  independently,  but  he  failed  to  detect  the  real  bearing  of  thv> 
passage  upon  Beoumlf.  Credit  for  the  find  accordingly  belongs  solely  to 
Grundtvig. 

2  Ongentheow  is  mentioned  in  Widsith  (1.  31)  as  a  famous  king  of  the  Swedes. 
Many  of  the  kings  mentioned  in  the  same  list  can  be  proved  to  be  historical, 
and  the  reference  in  Widsith  therefore  supports  Ongentheow's  |iistoric  character, 
but  is  far,  in  itself,  from  proving  it.  I 


SECT,  ii]  their  Kings  and  their  Wars  6 

fairly  have  been  expected.  For  there  are  extant  a  very  early 
Norse  poem,  the  Ynglinga  tal,  and  a  much  later  prose  account, 
the  Ynglinga  saga,  enumerating  the  kings  of  Sweden  The 
Ynglinga  tal  traces  back  these  kings  of  Sweden  for  some  thirty 
reigns.  Therefore,  though  it  was  not  composed  till  some  four 
centuries  after  the  date  to  which  we  must  assign  Ongentheow, 
it  should  deal  with  events  even  earlier  than  the  reign  of  that 
king:  for,  unless  the  rate  of  mortality  among  early  Swedish 
kings  was  abnormally  high,  thirty  reigns  should  occupy  a  period 
of  more  than  400  years.  Nothing  is,  however,  told  us  in  the 
Ynglinga  tal  concerning  the  deeds  of  any  king  Angantyr — ^^ 
which  is  the  name  we  might  expect  to  correspond  to  Ongen- 
theow^. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  the  son  and  grandson  of  Ongentheow, 
as  recorded  in  Beowulf,  do  meet  us  both  in  the  Ynglinga  tal 
and  in  the  Ynglinga  saga. 

According  to  Beowulf,  Ongentheow  had  two  sons,  Onela  and  .  . 
Ohthere:    Onela  became  king  of  Sweden  and  is  spoken  of  in 
terms  of  highest  praise^.     Yet  to  judge  from  the  account  given 
in  Beowulf,  the  Geatas  had  little  reason  to  love  him.     He  had 
followed  up  the  defeat  of  Hygelac  by  deaUng  their  nation  a  \ 
second  deadly  blow.     For  Onela's  nephews,  Eadgils  and  Ean- 
mund  (the  sons  of  Ohthere),  had  rebelled  against  him,  and  had   / 
taken  refuge  at  the  court  of  the  Geatas,  where  Heardred,  son  of  V 
Hygelac,  was  now  reigning,  supported  by  Beowulf.     Thither 
Onela    pursued   them,   and  slew  the  young  king  Heardred.    ' 
Eanmund  also  was  slain  ^,  then  or  later,  but  Eadgils  escaped.  '/ 

It  is  not  clear  from  the  poem  what  part  Beowulf  is  supposed 
to  have  taken  in  this  struggle,  or  why  he  failed  to  ward  off 
disaster  from  his  lord  and  his  country.  It  is  not  even  made 
clear  whether  or  no  he  had  to  make  formal  submission  to  the 
hated  Swede:  but  we  are  told  that  when  Onela  withdrew  he 
succeeded  to  the  vacant  throne.  In  later  days  he  took  his 
revenge  upon  Onela.  "He  became  a  friend  to  Eadgils  invhis 
distress;  he  supported  the  son  of  Ohthere  across  the  broad 
water  with  men,   with  warriors  and  arms:    he  wreaked  his 

^  Strictly  Anganpdr.  See  Heusler,  Heldennamen  in  mehrfacher  LautgeataU, 
Z.f.d.A.  Lii,  101. 

2  U.  2382-4.  »  U.  2612-9. 


6  The  Geatas—  [CH.  i 

vengeance  in  a  chill  journey  fraught  with  woe :  he  deprived  the 
king  [Onela]  of  his  life." 

This  story  bears  in  its  general  outline  every  impression  of 
true  history :  the  struggle  for  the  throne  between  the  nephew 
and  the  uncle,  the  support  given  to  the  unsuccessful  candidate 
by  a  rival  state,  these  are  events  which  recur  frequently  in 
the  wild  history  of  the  Germanic  tribes  during  the  dark  ages, 
following  inevitably  from  the  looseness  of  the  law  of  succession 
to  the  throne. 

Now  the  Ynglinga  tal  contains  allusions  to  these  events, 
and  the  Ynglinga  saga  a  brief  account  of  them,  though  dim 
and  distorted^.  We  are  told  how  Athils  (=  Eadgils)  king 
of  Sweden,  son  of  Ottar  (=  Ohthere),  made  war  upon  Ali 
(=  Onela).  By  the  time  the  Ynglinga  tal  was  written  it  had 
been  forgotten  that  Ali  was  Athils'  uncle,  and  that  the  war 
was  a  civil  war.  But  the  issue,  as  reported  in  the  Ynglinga  tal 
and  Ynglinga  saga,  is  the  same  as  in  Beowulf: 

"King  Athils  had  great  quarrels  with  the  king  called  Ali  of  Upp- 
A  land;    he  was  from  Norway.     They  had  a  battle  on  the  ice  of  Lake 

^    (/  Wener;   there  King  Ali  fell,  and  Athils  had  the  victory.     Concerning 
y         this  battle  there  is  much  said  in  the  SJcjoldunga  saga.'' 

From  the  Ynglinga  saga  we  learn  more  concerning  King 
Athils :  not  always  to  his  credit.  He  was,  as  the  Swedes  had 
been  from  of  old,  a  great  horse-breeder.  Authorities  differed 
as  to  whether  horses  or  drink  were  the  death  of  him  2.  Ac- 
cording to  one  account  he  brought  on  his  end  by  celebrating, 
with  immoderate  drinking,  the  death  of  his  enemy  Rolf  (the 
Hrothulf  of  Beowulf).     According  to  another: 

"King  Athils  was  at  a  sacrifice  of  the  goddesses,  and  rode  his 
horse  through  the  hall  of  the  goddesses:  the  horse  tripped  under 
him  and  fell  and  threw  the  king ;  and  his  head  smote  a  stone  so  that 
the  skull  broke  and  the  brains  lay  on  the  stones,  and  that  was  his 
death.  He  died  at  Uppsala,  and  there  was  laid  in  mound,  and  the 
Swedes  called  him  a  mighty  king." 

1  Whether  it  be  accuracy  or  accident,  these  names  Ottar  and  Athils  come 
just  at  that  place  in  the  list  of  the  Ynglinga  tal  which,  when  we  reckon  back 
the  generations,  we  find  to  correspond  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century. 
And  this  is  the  date  when  we  know  from  Beoumlf  that  they  should  have  been 
reigning. 

2  But  the  accounts  are  quite  inconsistent.  Saxo  (ed.  Holder,  pp.  66-7) 
implies  a  version  in  which  Athils  was  deposed,  if  not  slain,  by  Bothvar  Bjarki, 
which  is  quite  at  variance  with  other  information  given  by  Saxo. 


SECT,  ii]  their  Kings  and  their  Wars  7 

There  can,  then,  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  there  actually  was 
such  a  king  as  Eadgils :    and  some  of  the  charred  bones  which 
still  lie  within  the  gigantic  "King's  mounds"  at  Old  Uppsala 
may  well  be  his^.     And,  though  they  are  not  quite  so  well  ^ 
authenticated,  there  can  also  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  historici  t 
existence  of  Onela,  Ohthere,  and  even  of  Ongentheow. 

The.  Swedish  Kings. 

The  account  in  the  Ynglinga  saga  of  the  fight  between  Onela  and 
Eadgils  is  as  follows: 

AiHls  konungr  dtti  deilur  miklar  viS^  konung  JjanUy  tr  Ah  hit  inn 
uvplenzki  :  hann  var  6r  Noregi.  peir  dttu  orrostu  a  Vaenis  isi  ;  par 
fell  An  konungr  en  Acfils  hafSi  sigr  ;  fro,  pessarri  orrostu  er  langt  sagt 
i  Skjgldunga  sqqu.  {Ynglinga  saga  in  Heimskringla,  ed.  J6nsson, 
Kj0benhavn,  1893,  i,  56.) 

The  Skjoldunga  saga  here  mentioned  is  an  account  of  the  kings 
of  Denmark.     It  is  preserved  only  in  a  Latin  abstract. 

Post  haec  ortis  inter  Adilsum  ilium  Sveciae  regent  et  Alonem  Op- 
plandorum  regem  in  Norvegia,  inimicitiis,  praelium  utrinque  indicitur: 
loco  pugnae  statuto  in  stagno  Waener,  glade  jam  obducto.  Ad  illud 
igitur  se  virihus  inferiorem  agnoscens  Eolphonis  privigyii  sui  opem 
implorat,  hoc  proposito  praemio,  ut  ipse  Rolpho  tres  praeciosissimas  res 
quascunque  optaret  ex  universo  regno  Sveciae  praemii  loco  auferret : 
duodecim  autem  pugilum  ipsius  quilibet  3  libras  auri  puri,  quilibet 
reliquorum  bellatorum  tres  marcas  argenti  defecati.  Rolpho  domi  ipse  reses 
pugilos  suos  duodecim  Adilso  in  subsidium  mittit,  quorum  etiam  opera 
is  alioqui  vincendus,  victoriam  obtinuit.  Illi  sibi  et  regi  proposiium 
praemium  exposcunt,  negat  Adilsus,  Rolphoni  absenti  ullum  deberi 
praemium,  quare  et  Dani  pugiles  sibi  oblatum  respuebant,  cum  regem 
suum  eo  frustrari  intelligerent,  reversique  rem^  ut  gesta  est,  exponunt. 
(See  Skjoldungasaga  i  Arngrim  Jonssons  Udtog,  udgiven  af  Axel  Olrik, 
Kj0benbavn,  1894,  p.  34  [116].) 

There  is  also  a  reference  to  thi9  battle  on  the  ice  in  the  Kdlfsvisa, 
a  mnemonic  list  of  famous  heroes  and  their  horses,  it  is  noteworthy 
that  in  this  list  mention  is  made  of  Vestein,  wlio  is  perhaps  the  Wihstan 
of  our  poem,  and  of  Biar,  who  has  been  thought  (very  doubtfully)  to 
correspond  to  the  O.E.  Beaw. 

Dagr  reip  Drgsle    en  Dvalenn  Mdpne... 

Ale  Hrafne    es  til  iss  ripo, 

enn  annarr  austr    und  Apilse 

grdr  hvarfape    geire  undapr. 

Bjgrn  reip  Blakke    en  Biarr  Kerte, 

Atle  Glaume  en  Apils  Slungne.., 
Lieder  der  Edda,  ed.  Symons  and  Gering,  i,  221-2. 
"Ale  was  on  Hrafn  when  they  rode  to  the  ice:  but  another  horse, 
a  grey  one,  with  Athils  on  his  back,  fell  eastward,  wounded  by  the 
spear."  This,  as  Olrik  points  out,  appears  to  refer  to  a  version  of 
the  story  in  which  Athils  had  his  fall  from  his  horse,  not  at  a  ceremony 
at  Uppsala,  but  after  the  battle  with  Ali.     {HeUedigtning,!,  203-4.) 

^  Unless  they  are  among  the  fragments  carried  off  to  the  Stockholm  Museum. 
Little  of  interest  was  found  in  these  moiuids  when  they  were  opened :  everything 
had  been  too  thoroughly  burnt. 


8  The  Geatas —  [CH.  i 

For  various  theories  as  to  the  early  history  of  the  Swedish  royal 
house,  as  recorded  in  Beowulf,  see  Weyhe,  Konig  Ongentheows  Fall, 
in  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxix,  14-39  :Schuck,  Studier  i  Ynglingatal  (1905-7): 
Stjerna,  Vendel  och  Vendelkrdka,  in  A.f.n.F.  xxi,  71,  etc. 

The  Geatas. 

The  identification  of  Geatas  and  Gotar  has  been  accepted  by  the 
great  majority  of  scholars,  although  Kemble  wished  to  locate  the 
Geatas  in  Schleswig,  Grundtvig  in  Gotland,  and  Haigh  in  England. 
Leo  was  the  first  to  suggest  the  Jutes:    but  the  "Jute-hypothesis" 
owes  its  currency  to  the  arguments  of  Fahlbeck  (Beovulfsgvddet  sasom 
kdlla  Jor  nordisk  fornhistoria  in  the  Antigvarisk  Tidskrift  for  Sverige, 
vm,  2,  1 ).     Fahlbeck's  very  inconclusive  reasons  were  contested  at 
the  time  by  Sarrazin  (23  etc.)  and  ten  Brink  (194  etc.)  and  the  argu- 
ments  against   them   have  lately  been  marshalled  by  H.    Schiick 
{Folknamnet  Geatas  i  den  fornengelska  dikten  Beowulf,  Upsala,  1907). 
It  is  indeed  difficult  to  understand  how  Fahlbeck's  theory  came  to 
receive  the  support  it  has  had  from  several  scholars  (e.g.  Bugge,  P.B.B. 
XII,  I  etc. ;  Weyhe,  En^l.  Stud,  xxxix,  38  etc. ;  Gering).     For  his  con- 
clusions do  not  arise  naturally  from  the  O.E.  data :  his  whole  argument 
is  a  piece  of  learned  pleading,  undertaken  to  support  his  rather  revo- 
lutionary speculations  as  to  early  Swedish  history.     These  speculations 
would  have  been  rendered  less  probable  had  the  natural  interpretation 
of  Geatas  as  Gotar  been  accepted.     The  Jute-hypothesis  has  recently 
been  revived,  with  the  greatest  skill    and  learning,    by  Gudmund 
Schiitte  [Journal  of  English  and  Germanic  Philology,  xi,  574  etc.). 
/But  here  again  I  cannot  help  suspecting  that  the  wish  is  father  to  the 
t/  thought,  and  that  the  fact  that  that  eminent  scholar  is  a  Dane  living 
^  in  Jutland,  Jhas  something  to  do  with  his  attempt  to  locate  the  Geatas 
.^y^^-  there.    tNoamo^i^*  of  learnin^will  eradicatepatriotismj  / 
^  The  foIlowi&^'^nsidCTa^ions'"TTecd^^  ' 

(1)  Geatas  etymologically  corresponds  exactly  with  O.N.  Gautar, 
the  modern  Gotar.  The  O.E.  word  corresponding  to  Jutes  (the 
lutae  of  Bede)  should  be,  not  Geatas,  but  in  the  Anglian  dialect  Eote, 
lote,  in  the  West  Saxon  lete,  Yte. 

Now  it  is  true  that  in  one  passage  in  the  O.E.  translation  of  Bede 
(i,  15)  the  word  "lutarum"  is  rendered  Geata:  but  in  the  other 
(IV,  16)  "lutorum  "  is  rendered  Eota,  Ytena.  And  this  latter  rendering 
is  supported  (a)  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  (lotuin,  lutna)  and 
(6)  by  the  fact  that  the  current  O.E.  word  for  Jutes  was  Yte,  Ytan, 
which  survived  till  after  the  Norman  conquest.  For  the  name 
Ytena  land  was  used  for  that  portion  of  Hampshire  which  had 
been  settled  by  the  Jutes:  William  Rufus  was  slain,  according  to 
Florence  of  Worcester,  in  Ytene  (which  Florence  explains  as  prouincia 
Jutarum). 

From  the  purely  etymological  point  of  view  the  Gotar-hypothesis, 

then,  is  unimpeachable:    but  the  Jute-hypothesis'ls"urisatlSfactory, 

since  it  is  based  upon  one  passage  in  the  O.E.  Bede,  where  Jutarum 

is  incorrectly  rendered  Geata,  whilst  it  is  invalidated  by  the  other 

passage  in  the  O.E.  Bede,  by  the  Chronicle  and  by  Florence  of 

Worcester,  where  Jutorum  is  correctly  translated  by  Ytena,  or  its 

AngHan  or  Kentish  equivalent  Eota,  lotna. 

J  (2)     It  is  obvious  that  the  Geatas  of  Beoumlf  were  a  strong  and 

)    independent  power — a  match  for  the  Swedes.     Now  we  learn  from 

'    Procopius  that  in  the  sixth  century  the  Gotar  were  an  independent 


SECT,  ii]  tlieir  Kings  and  their  Wars  9 

and  numerous  nation.  But  we  have  no  equal  evidence  for  any  similar 
preponderant  Jutish  power  in  the  sixth  century.  The  lutae  are  indeed 
a  rather  puzzling  tribe,  and  scholars  have  not  even  been  able  to  agree 
where  they  dwelt. 

The  Gotar  on  the  other  hand  are  located  among  the  great  nations 
of  Scandinavia  both  by  Ptolemy  {Geog.  ti,  11,  16)  in  the  secogd 
century  and  by  Procogius  '{Bell,  upti,  n,  .15)  in  the  §i^th.  When  we 
^fiexiT^t  clear  ii3ormatioii  (through  the  Christian  missionaries)  both 
Gotar  and  Swedes  have  been  united  under  one  king.  But  the  Gotar 
retained  their  separate  laws,  traditions,  and  voice  in  the  selection  of 
the  king,  and  they  were  constantly  asserting  themselves  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  title  of  the  king  of  Sweden,  rex  Sveorum  Gothor- 
umque,  commemorates  the  old  distinction. 

From  the  historical  point  of  view,  then,  the  Gotar  comply  with 
what  we  are  told  in  Beowulf  of  the  power  of  the  Geatas  much  better 
i;han  do  the  Jutes. 

(3)  Advocates  of  the  Jute-hypothesis  have  claimed  much  support 
from  the  geographical  argument  that  the  Swedes  and  Geatas  fight 
ofer  sie  (e.g.  when  BeowuK  and  Eadgils  attack  Onela,  2394).  But  the 
term  see  is  just  as  appropriate  to  the  great  lakes  Wener  and  Wetter, 
which  separated  the  Swedes  from  the  Gotar,  as  it  is  to  the  Cattegatt. 
And  we  have  the  evidence  of  Scandinavian  sources  that  the  battle 
between  Eadgils  and  Onela  actually  did  take  place  on  the  ice  of  lake 
Wener  (see  above,  p.  6).  Moreover  the  absence  of  any  mention  of 
ships  in  the  fighting  narrated  in  11.  2922-2945  would  be  remarkable 
if  the  contending  nations  were  Jutes  and  Swedes,  but  suits  Gotar 
xind  Swedes  admirably:  since  they  could  attack  each  other  by  land 
as  well  as  by  water. 

(4)  There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  old  land  of  the  Gotar  in- 
cluded a  great  deal  of  what  is  now  the  south-west  coast  of  Sweden^ 
Hygelac's  capital  was  probably  not  far  from  the  modern  Goteborg. 
The  descriptions  in  Beowulf  would  suit  the  cliffs  of  southern  Sweden 
well,  but  they  are  quite  inapplicable  to  the  sandy  dunes  of  Jutland^    u  -  Vj 

Little  weight  can,  however,  be  attached  to  this  last  argument,  as  ,s**^< 
the  cliffs  of  the  land  of  the  Geatas  are  in  any  case  probably  drawn      M 
from  the  poet's  imagination. 

(5)  If  we  accept  the  identification  Beowulf  =  Bjarki  (see  below, 
pp.  60-1)  a  further  argument  for  the  equation  of  Geatas  and  Gotar  will 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  Bjarki  travels  to  Denmark  from  Gautland 
just  as  Beowulf  from  the  land  of  the  Geatas;  Bjarki  is  the  brother  of 
the  king  of  the  Gautar,  Beowulf  the  nephew  of  the  king  of  the  Geatas. 

(6)  No  argument  as  to -the  meaning  of  Geatas  can  be  drawn  from 
^     the  fact  that  Gregory  calls  Chlochilaicus  (Hygelac)  a  Dane.     For  it 

is  clear  from  Beowulf  that,  whatever  else  they  may  have  been,  the 
Geatas  were  not  Danes.  Either,  then,  Gregory  must  be  misinformed, 
or  he  must  be  using  the  word  Dane  vaguely,  to  cover  any  kind  of 
Scandinavian  pirate. 

(7)  Probably  what  has  weighed  most  heavily  (often  perhaps  not 
consciously)  in  gaining  converts  to  the  "Jute-hypothesis"  has  been 
the  conviction  that  "in  ancient  times  each  nation  celebrated  in  song 
its  own  heroes  alone."  Hence  one  set  of  scholars,  accepting  the 
identification  of  the  Geatas  with  the  Scandinavian  Gotar,  have  argued 
that  Beowulf  is  therefore  simply  a  translation  from  a  Scandinavian 
Ootish  original.     Others,  accepting  Beowulf  as  an  English  poem,  have 

^  See  Schiick,  Folknamnet  Geatas,  22  etc. 


10  The  Geatas —  [CH.  i 

argued  that  the  Geatas  who  are  celebrated  in  it  must  therefore  be 
one  of  the  tribes  that  settled  in  England,  and  have  therefore  favoured 
the  "Jute  theory."  But  the  a  priori  assumption  that  each  Germanic 
tribe  celebrated  in  song  its  own  national  heroes  only  is  demonstrably 
incorrect^. 

But  in  none  of  the  accounts  of  the  warfare  of  these  Scandi- 
navian kings,  whether  written  in  Norse  or  monkish  Latin,  is 
there  mention  of  any  name  corresponding  to  that  of  Beowulf, 
as  king  of  the  Geatas.  Whether  he  is  as  historic  as  the  other 
kings  with  whom  in  our  poem  he  is  brought  into  contact,  we 
cannot  say. 

It  has  been  generally  held  that  the  Beowulf  of  our  poem 
is  compounded  out  of  two  elements :  that  an  historic  Beowulf, 
king  of  the  Geatas,  has  been  combined  with  a  mythological 
figure  Beowa^,  a  god  of  the  ancient  Angles :  that  the  historical 
achievements  against  Frisians  and  Swedes  belong  to  the  king, 
the  mythological  adventures  with  giants  and  dragons  to  the 
god.  But  there  is  no  conclusive  evidence  for  either  of  these 
presumed  component  parts  of  our  hero.  To  the  god  Beowa 
we  shall  have  to  return  later:  here  it  is  enough  to  note  that 
—  the  current  assumption  that  there  was  a  king  Beowulf  of  the 
i  Geatas  lacks  confirmation  from  Scandinavian  sources. 

And  one  piece  of  evidence  there  is,  which  tends  to  show  that 
Beowulf  is  not  an  historic  king  at  all,  but  that  his  adventures 
have  been  violently  inserted  amid  the  historic  names  of  the 
kings  of  the  Geatas.  Members  of  the  families  in  Beowulf  which 
we  have  reason  to  think  historic  bear  names  which  alliterate 
the  one  with  the  other.  The  inference  seems  to  be  that  it  was 
customary,  when  a  Scandinavian  prince  was  named  in  the 
Sixth  Century,  to  give  him  a  name  which  had  an  initial  letter 
similar  to  that  of  his  father :  care  was  thus  taken  that  metrical 
difficulties  should  not  prevent  the  names  of  father  and  son  being 
linked  together  in  song^.  In  the  case  of  Beowulf  himself, 
J^y  however,  this  rule  breaks  down.     Beowulf  seems  an  intruder 

1  See  below,  p.  98  and  Appendix  (E);  The  "Jute-Question." 

2  See  below,  pp.  45  etc. 

3  Olnk  {Heltedigtnirg,  J,  22  etc.).  The  Danish  house — Healfdene,  Heorogar,. 
Hrothgar,  Halga,  Heoroweard,  Hrethric,  Hrothmund,  Hrothulf :  the  Swedish — 
Ongentheow,  Onela,  Ohthere,  Eanmund,  Eadgils:  the  Geatic — Hrethel,  Here- 
beald,  Hsetiicjm,  Hygelac,  Heardred.  The  same  principle  is  strongly  marked 
in  the  Old  English  pedigrees. 


SECT,  ii]  their  Kings  and  their  Wars  11 

into  the  house  of  Hrethel.  It  may  be  answered  that  since  he 
was  only  the  offspring  of  a  daughter  of  that  house,  and  since 
that  daughter  had  three  brothers,  there  would  have  been  no 
prospect  of  his  becoming  king,  when  he  was  named.  But 
neither  does  his  name  fit  in  with  that  of  the  other  great  house 
with  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  connected.  Wiglaf,  son  of 
V  Wihstan  of  the  Wsegmundingas,  was  named  according  to  the 
famihar  rules :  but  Beowulf,  son  of  Ecgtheow,  seems  an  intruder 
in  that  family  as  well. 

This  failure  to  fall  in  with  the  alliterative  scheme,  and  the 
absence  of  confirmation  from  external  evidence,  are,  of  course, 
not  in  themselves  enough  to  prove  that  the  reign  of  Beowulf 
over  the  Geatas  is  a  poetic  figment.  And  indeed  our  poem  may 
quite  possibly  be  true  to  historic  fact  in  representing  him  as 
the  last  of  the  great  kings  of  the  Geatas;  after  whose  death 
•his  people  have  nothing  but  national  disaster  to  expect^.  It 
would  be  strange  that  this  last  and  most  mighty  and  mag- 
nanimous of  the  kings  of  the  Geatas  should  have  been  forgotten 
in  Scandinavian  lands :  that  outside  Beowulf  nothing  should  be 
known  of  his  reign.  But  when  we  consider  how  Httle,  outside 
Beowulf,  we  know  of  the  Geatic  kingdom  at  all,  we  cannot 
pronounce  such  oblivion  impossible. 

What  tells  much  more  against  Beowulf  as  a  historic  Geatic 
king  is  that  there  is  always  apt  to  be  something  extravagant 
and  unreal  about  what  the  poem  tells  us  of  his  deeds,  con- 
trasting with  the  sober  and-  historic  way  in  which  other  kings, 
like  Hrothgar  or  Hygelac  or  Eadgils,  are  referred  to.  True,  we 
must  not  disqualify  Beowulf  forthwith  because  he  slew  a 
dragon 2.  Several  unimpeachably  historical  persons  have  done 
this:  so  sober  an  authority  as  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle 
assures  us  that  fiery  dragons  were  flying  in  Northumbria  as 
late  as  a.d.  7933. 

1  11.  3018  etc. 

2  As  is  done,  e.g.,  by  Schiick  {Studier  i  Beoumlf-sagan,  27). 

^  "Dragon  fights  are  more  frequent,  not  less  frequent,  the  nearer  we  come 
to  historic  times"  :  Olrik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  313,  The  dragpn  survived  much  later 
in  Europe  than  has  been  generally  recognized.  He  was  flying  from  Mount. 
Pilatus  in  1649.  (See  J.  J,  Scheuchzer,  Itinera  per  Helvetiae  Alpinas  regiones, 
1723,  m,  p.  385.)  The  same  authority  quotes  accounts  of  dragons  authenti- 
cated by  priests,  his  own  contemporaries,  and  supplies  many  bloodcurdling 
engravings  of  the  same. 


12    j  The  Geatas—  [CH.  i 

But  (and  this  is  the  serious  difficulty)  even  when  Beowulf 
is  depicted  in  quite  historic  circumstances,  there  is  still  some- 
thing unsubstantial  about  his  actions.  When,  in  the  midst  of 
the  strictly  historical  account  of  Hygelac's  overthrow,  we  are 
told  that  Beowulf  swam  home  bearing  thirty  suits  of  armour, 
this  is  as  fantastic  as  the  account  of  his  swimming  home  from 
Orendel's  lair  with  Grendel's  head  and  the  magic  swordhilt. 
We  may  well  doubt  whether  there  is  any  more  kernel  of  historic 
fact  in  the  one  feat  than  in  the  other ^.  Again,  we  are  told  how 
Beowulf  defended  the  young  prince  Heardred,  Hygelac's  son. 
Where  was  he,  then,  when  Heardred  was  defeated  and  slain? 
To  protect  and  if  necessary  avenge  his  lord  upon  the  battle- 
field was  the  essential  duty  of  the  Germanic  retainer.  Yet 
Beowulf  has  no  part  to  play  in  the  episode  of  the  death  of 
Heardred.  He  is  simply  ignored  till  it  is  over.  True,  we 
are  told  that  in  later  days  he  did  take  vengeance,  by  sup- 
porting the  claims  of  Eadgils,  the  pretender,  against  Onela,  the 
slayer  of  Heardred.  But  here  again  diffiqpjties  meet  us:  for 
the  Scandinavian  authorities,  whilst  they  agree  that  Eadgils 
overthrew  Onela  by  the  use  of  foreign  auxiUaries,  represent 
these  auxiliaries  as  Danish  retainers,  dispatched  by  the  Danish 
king  Hrothulf .  The  chief  of  these  Danish  retainers  is  Bothvar 
Bjarki,  who,  as  we  shall  see  later,  has  been  thought  to  stand 
in  some  relation  to  Beowulf.  But  Bothvar  is  never  regarded 
as  king  of  the  Geatas :  and  the  fact  remains  that  Beowulf  is  at 
variance  with  our  other  authorities  in  representing  Eadgils  as 
having  been  placed  on  the  throne  by  a  Geatic  rather  than  by 
a  Danish  force.     Yet  this  Geatic  expedition  against  Onela  is, 

^  with  the  exception  of  the  dragon  episode,  the  only  event  which 
our  poem  has  to  narrate  concerning  Beowulf's  long  reign  of 
fifty  years.  And  in  other  respects  the  reign  is  shadowy. 
Beowulf,  we  are  told,  came  to  the  throne  at  a  time  of  utter 
national  distress;  he  had  a  long  and  prosperous  reign,  and 
became  so  powerful  that  he  was  able  to  dethrone  the  mighty^ 

V  Swedish  king  Onela,  and  place  in  his  stead  the  miserable 
fugitive^  Eadgils.     Yet,  after  this  half  century  of  success,  the 

^  Cf.  on  this  point  Klaeber  in  Anglia,  xxxvi  (1912)  p.  190. 
2  1.  2382.  3  1.  2393. 


SECT,  ii]  their  Kings  and  their  Wars  fl^y 

kingdom  is  depicted  upon  Beowulf's  death  as  being  in  the  same 
tottering  condition  in  which  it  stood  at  the  time  when  he  is 
represented  as  having  come  to  the  throne,  after  the  fall  of 
Heardred. 

The  destruction  one  after  the  other  of  the  descendants  of 
Hrethel  sounds  historic :  at  any  rate  it  possesses  verisimihtude. 
But  the  picture  of  the  chfldless  Beowulf,  dying,  after  a  glorious 
reign,  in  extreme  old  age,  having  apparently  made  no  previous 
arrangements  for  the  succession,  so  that  Wiglaf,  a  youth 
hitherto  quite  untried  in  war,  steps  at  once  into  the  place  of 
command  on  account  of  his  valour  in  slaying  the  dragon — thi& 
is  a  picture  which  lacks  all  historic  probability. 

I  cannot  avoid  a  suspicion  that  the  fifty  years'  reign  of 
Beowulf  over  the  Geatas  may  quite  conceivably  be  a  poetic 
fiction^;  that  the  downfall  of  the  Geatic  kingdom  and  its 
absorption  in  Sweden  were  very  possibly  brought  about  by  the 
destruction  of  Hygelac  and  all  his  warriors  at  the  mouth  of  >- 
the  Rhine. 

Such  an  event  would  have  given  the  Swedes  their  op- 
portunity for  vengeance :  they  may  have  swooped  down,  de- 
stroyed Heardred,  and  utterly  crushed  the  independent 
kingdom  of  the  Geatas  before  the  younger  generation  had 
time  to  grow  up  into  fighting  men. 

To  the  fabulous  achievements  of  Beowulf,  his  fight  with 
Grendel,  Grendel's  dam,  and  the  dragon,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  return  later.  As  to  his  other  feats,  all  we  can  say  is  that 
the  common  assumption  that  they  rest  upon  an  historic  founda- 
tion does  not  seem  to  be  capable  of  proof.  But  that  they  have  \i 
an  historic  background  is  indisputable. 


Section  III.    Heorot  and  the  Danish  Kings. 


a 


Of  the  Danish  kings  mentioned  in  Beowulf,  we  have  first^\ 
Scyld  Scefing,  the  foundling,  an  ancient  and  probably  a  mythi- 
cal figure,  then  Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld,  who  seems  an  intruder 
among  the  Danish  kings,  since  the  Danish  records  know  nothing 

^  Of  course,  even  if  BeowuK's  reign  over  the  Geafas  is  not  historic,  this 
does  not  exclude  the  possibility  of  his  having  some  historic  foundation. 


14  Heorot  and  the  Danish  Kings  [CH.  i 

of  him,  and  since  his  name  does  not  aUiterate  with  those  of 
either  his  reputed  father  or  his  reputed  son.     Then  comes  the 

\/  "high"  Healfdene,  to  whom  four  children  were  born :  Heorogar, 
Hrothgar,  Halga  "the  good,"  and  a  daughter  who  was  wedded 
to  the  Swedish  king.  Since  Hrothgar  is  represented  as  an  elder 
contemporary  of  Hygelac,  we  must  date^  Healfdene  and  his  sons, 

y  should  they  be  historic  characters,  between  a.d.  430  and  520. 
Now  it  is  noteworthy  that  just  after  a.d.  500  the  Danes 
first  become  widely  known,  and  the  name  "Danes"  first  meets 
us  in  Latin  and  Greek  authors.  And  this  cannot  be  explained 
on  the  ground  that  the  North  has  become  more  famihar  to 
dwellers  in  the  classical  lands:  on  the  contrary  far  less  is 
known  concerning  the  geography  of  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Baltic  than  had  been  the  case  four  or  five  centuries  before. 
Tacitus  and  Ptolemy  knew  of  many  tribes  inhabiting  what  is 
now  Denmark,  but  not  of  the  Danes :  the  writers  in  Ravenna 
and  Constantinople  in  the  sixth  century,  though  much  less 
well  informed  on  the  geography  of  the  North,  know  of  the 

v/ Danes  as  amongst  the  most  powerful  nations  there.  Beowulf 
is,  then,  supported  by  the  Latin  and  Greek  records  when  it 
depicts  these  rulers  of  Denmark  as  a  house  of  mighty  kings,  the 
fame  of  whose  realm  spread  far  and  wide.  We  cannot  tell  to 
what  extent  this  realm  was  made  by  the  driving  forth  of  alien 
nations  from  Denmark,  to  what  extent  by  the  coming  together 
(under  the  common  name  of  Danes)  of  many  tribes  which  had 
hitherto  been  known  by  other  distinct  names. 

The  pedigree  of  the  house  of  Healfdene  can  be  constructed 
from    the    references    in    Beowulf.     Healfdene's    three    sons, 

y  Heorogar,  Hrothgar,  Halga,  are  presumably  enumerated  in 
order  of  age,  since  Hrothgar  mentions  Heorogar,  but  not  Halga, 
as  his  senior 2.  Heorogar  left  a  son  Heoroweard^,  but  it  is  in 
accordance  with  Teutonic  custom  that  HTOthgar  should  have 
succeeded  to  the  throne  if,  as  we  may  well  suppose,  Heoroweard 
was  too  young  to  be  trusted  with  the  kingship. 

1  Attempts  at  working  out  the  chronology  of  Beowulf  have  been  made  by 
Gering  (in  his  translation)  and  by  Heusler  (Archiv,  cxxiv,  9-14).  On  the 
whole  the  chronology  of  Beowulf  is  self -consistent,  but  there  are  one  or  two 
discrepancies  which  do  not  admit  of  solution. 

2  1.  468.  3  1,  2161. 


SECT.  Ill]  Heorot  and  the  Danish  Kings  15 

The  younger  brother  Halga  is  never  mentioned  during 
Beowulf's  visit  to  Heorot,  and  the  presumption  is  that  he  is 
already  dead. 

The  Hrothulf  who,  both  in  Beowulf  and  Widsith,  is  linked  •  / 
with  King  Hrothgar,  almost  as  his  equal,  is  clearly  the  son  of 
Halga :  for  he  is  Hrothgar's  nephew^,  and  yet  he  is  not  the  son 
of  Heorogar^.  The  mention  of  how  Hrothgar  shielded  this 
Hrothulf  when  he  was  a  child  confirms  us  in  the  belief  that 
his  father  Halga  had  died  early.  Yet,  though  he  thus  belongs 
to  the  youngest  branch  of  the  family,  Hrothulf  is  clearly  older 
than  Hrethric  and  Hrothmund,  the  two  sons  of  Hrothgar, 
whose  youth,  in  spite  of  the  age  of  their  father,  is  striking. 
The  seat  of  honour  occupied  by  Hrothulf^  is  contrasted  with 
the  undistinguished  place  of  his  two  young  cousins,  sitting  ^ 
among  the  giogoth^.  Nevertheless  Hrothgar  and  his  wife  ex- 
pect their  son,  not  their  nephew,  to  succeed  to  the  throne^. 
Very  small  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  royal  houses  in^'^ 
these  lawless  Teutonic  times  is  enough  to  show  us  that  trouble 
is  Hkely  to  be  in  store. 

So  much  can  be  made  out  from  the  English  sources,  Beowulf 
and  Widsith.  Turning  now  to  the  Scandinavian  records,  we 
find  much  confusion  as  to  details,  and  as  to  the  characters  of 
the  heroes:  but  the  relationships  are  the  same  as  in  the  Old 
English  poem. 

Heorogar  is,  it  is  true,  forgotten;  and  though  a  name 
Hiarwarus  is  found  in  Saxo  corresponding  to  that  of  Heoroweard, 
the  son  of  Heorogar,  in  Beowulf,  this  Hiarwarus  is  cut  off  from 
the  family,  now  that  his  father  is  no  longer  remembered. 
Accordingly  the  Halfdan  of  Danish  tradition  (Haldanus  in 
Saxo's  Latin:    =  O.E.  Healfdene)  has  only  two  sons,  Hroar 

1  Widsith,  1.  46. 

2  Beoioulf,  1.  2160.  Had  Hrothulf  been  a  son  of  Heorogar  he  could  not  have 
been  passed  over  in  silence  here.  Neither  can  Hrothulf  be  Hrothgar's  sister's 
son:  for  since  the  sister  married  the  Swedish  king,  Hrothulf  would  in  that 
case  be  a  Swedish  prince,  and  presumably  would  be  living  at  the  Swedish 
court,  and  bearing  a  name  connected  by  alliteration  with  those  of  the  Swedish, 
not  the  Danish  house.  Besides,  had  he  been  a  Swedish  prince,  he  must  have 
been  heard  of  in  connection  with  the  dynastic  quarrels  of  the  Swedish  house. 

»  11.  1163-5.  «  IL  1188-91. 

5  IL  1180  etc. 


16  Heorot  and  the  Danish  Kings  [CH.  i 

(Saxo's   Koe,    corresponding   to    O.E.    Hrothgar)    and   Helgi 

(Saxo's  Helgo:    -  O.E.  Halga).     Helgi  is  the  father  of  Kolf 

^  Kraki  (Saxo's  Roluo :  =  O.E.  Hrothulf),  the  type  of  the  noble 

(^  king,  the  Arthur  of  Denmark. 

And,  just  as  Arthur  holds  court  at  Camelot,  or  Charlemagne 

is  at  home  ad  Ais,  a  sa  capele,  so  the  Scandinavian  traditions 

^/represent  Rolf  Kraki  as  keeping  house  at  Leire  {Lethra,  Hlei(Sar 

garter). 

Accounts  of  all  these  kings,  and  above  all  of  Rolf  Kraki,  meet  us 
'  in  a  number  of  Scandinavian  documents,  of  which  three  are  par- 
ticularly important: 

(1)  Saxo  Grammaticus  (the  lettered),  the  earlier  books  of  whose 
Historia  Danica  are  a  storehouse  of  Scandinavian  tradition  and  poetry, 
clothed  in  a  difficult  and  bombastic,  but  always  amusing,  Latin. 
How  much  later  than  the  English  these  Scandinavian  sources  are, 
we  can  realize  by  remembering  that  when  Saxo  was  putting  the 
finishing  touches  to  his  history,  King  John  was  ruHng  in  England. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  other  Danish-Latin  histories  and 
genealogies. 

(2)  The  Icelandic  Saga  of  Rolf  KraJci,  a  late  document  belonging 
to  the  end  of  the  middle  ages,  but  nevertheless  containing  valuable 
matter. 

(3)  The  Icelandic  Skjoldunga  saga,  extant  only  in  a  Latin  summary 
of  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Section  IV.    Leire  and  Heorot. 

The  village  of  Leire  remains  to  the  present  day.  It  stands 
near  the  north  coast  of  the  island  of  Seeland,  some  five  miles 
from  Roskilde  and  three  miles  from  the  sea,  in  a  gentle  valley, 
through  the  midst  of  which  flows  a  small  stream.  The  village 
itself  consists  of  a  tiny  cluster  of  cottages:  the  outstanding 
feature  of  the  place  is  formed  by  the  huge  grave  mounds 
scattered  around  in  all  directions. 
.  The  tourist,  walking  amid  these  cottages  and  mounds,  may 

feel  fairly  confident  that  he  is  standing  on  the  site  of  Heorot. 

There  are  two  distinct  stages  in  this  identification :  it  must 
be  proved  (a)  that  the  modern  Leire  occupies  the  site  of  the 
Leire  (Lethra)  where  Rolf  Kraki  ruled,  and  (6)  that  the  Leire  of 
Rolf  Kraki  was  built  on  the  site  of  Heorot. 

{a)  That  the  modern  Leire  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient 
Leire  has  indeed  been  disputed^,  but  seems  hardly  open  to 

*  Doubts  are  expressed,  for  example,  in  Trap's  monumental  topographical 
work  (Kongeriket  Danmark,  ii,  328,  1898). 


PLATE  II 


InLibrum II.  HiSTORi.fl Danica-  Saxonis  Grammatics. 

ANTIQLHSSIM^  IN  DANIA 
ARCIS  ET  OPPIDI 

LETHR/E 

TOPOGRAPHIA 


A.  Scpulchriim  Haraldi  riyMetarL.. 

B.  Sella  Regular ,  5)ronnin5/ltncn  vulgo. 

C.  Locus,  iibi  Regia  olirn  crat_^» 

D.  S)r}lh<^f\)  I  foiTan  ibi  homagu  Rcgibus 

praftita-. 


H.  £)(iif«ilj/59  A  Regis  Olairepulchriira. 

1.  Por^s  major,  5i)?'39l<brcf  vulgo, 

K.  Equilc  plim  rcgiiim,  ^<(l<bi<rg. 

L.  Stabulumpullisdcputatum9l:m,Soff6;JB 


LEIRE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


From  Saxo  Grammaticus,  ed.  Stephanius,  1644. 


SECT,  iv]  Leire  and  Heorot  17 

doubt,  in  view  of  tlie  express  words  of  the  Danish  chroniclers^. 
It  is  true  that  the  mounds,  which  these  early  chroniclers 
probably  imagined  as  covering  the  ashes  of  '  Haldanus '  or  '  Roe,' 
and  which  later  antiquaries  dubbed  with  the  names  of  other 
kings,  are  now  thought  to  belong,  not  to  the  time  of  Hrothgar, 
but  to  the  Stone  or  Bronze  Ages.  But  this  evidence  that 
Leire  was  a  place  of  importance  thousands  of  years  before 
Hrothgar  or  Hrothulf  were  born,  in  no  wise  invalidates  the 
overwhelming  evidence  that  it  was  their  residence  also. 

The  equation  of  the  modem  Leire  with  the  Leire  of  Rolf 
Kraki  we  may  then  accept.  We  cannot  be  quite  so  sure  of 
our  thesis  (6) :  that  the  ancient  Leire  was  identical  with  the*, 
site  where  Hrothgar  built  Heorot.  But  it  is  highly  probable : 
for  although  Leire  is  more  particularly  connected  with  the 
memory  of  Rolf  Kraki  himself,  we  are  assured,  in  one  of  the 
mediaeval  Danish  chronicles,  that  Leire  was  the  royal  seat  of  '^ 
Rolf's  predecessors  as  well:  of  Ro  (Hrothgar)  and  of  Ro's 
father:  and  that  Ro  "enriched  it  with  great  magnificence 2." 
Ro  also,  according  to  this  chronicler,  heaped  a  mound  at 
Leire  over  the  grave  of  his  father,  and  was  himself  buried  at 
Leire  under  another  mound. 

Now  since  the  Danish  tradition  represents  Hrothgar  as 
enriching  his  royal  town  of  Leire,  whilst  Enghsh  tradition 
commemorates  him  as  a  builder  king,  constructing  a  royal  hall 
"greater  than  the  sons  of  men  had  ever  heard  speak  of" — ^it 
becomes  very  probable  that  the  two  traditions  are  reflections  of 
the  same  fact,  and  that  the  site  of  that  hall  was  Leire.  That 
Heorot,  the  picturesque  name  of  the  hall  itself,  should,  in 
English  tradition,  have  been  remembered,  whilst  that  of  the 
town  where  it  was  built  had  been  forgotten,  is  natural^.     For 

^  For  example  Sweyn  Aageson  (e.  1200)  had  no  doubt  that  the  little  village 
of  Leire  near  Roskilde  was  identical  with  the  Leire  of  story :  Rolf  Kraki,  occisus 
in  Leihra,  qvae  tunc  famosissima  Regis  extitit  curia,  nunc  autem  Roskildensi 
vicina  civitati,  inter  abjectissima  ferme  vix  colitur  oppida.  Svenonis  Aggonis 
Historia  Regum  Daniae,  in  Langebek,  i,  45. 

^  Ro...patrem  vero  suum  Dan  colle  apud  Lethram  tumulavit  Sialandie  ubi 
sedem  regni  pro  eo  pater  constituit,  qvam  ipse  post  eum  divitiis  multiplicibus 
ditavit.  In  the  so-called  Annates  Esromenses,  in  Langebek,  i,  224.  Cf.  Olrik, 
Heltedigtning,  i,  188,  194.   For  further  evidence,  see  Appendix  (G)  below. 

'  We  must  not  think  of  Heorot  as  an  isolated  country  seat.  The  Royal  Hall 
would  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  Royal  Village,  as  in  the  case  of  the  halls  of  Attila 
(Priscus  in  MoUer's  Fragmenta,  iv,  85)  or  Cynewulf  {A.S.  Chronicle,  Anno  756). 

O.B.  2 


( 


18  Leire  and  Heorot  [ch.  i 

though  the  names  of  heroes  survived  in  such  numbers,  after 
the  settlement  of  the  Angles  in  England,  it  was  very  rarely 
indeed,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  that  the  Angles  and  Saxons 
continued  to  have  any  clear  idea  concerning  the  places  which 
had  been  familiar  to  their  forefathers,  but  which  they  them- 
selves had  never  seen. 

Further,  the  names  of  both  Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf  are  linked 
with  Heorot  in  English  tradition  in  the  same  way  as  those  of 
V  Roe  and  Rolf  are  with  Leire  in  Danish  chronicles. 

Yet  there  is  some  httle  doubt,  though  not  such  as  need 

seriously  trouble  us,  as  to  this  identification  of  the  site  of 

/   Heorot  with  Leire.     Two  causes  especially  have  led  students  to 

doubt  the  connection  of  Roe  (Hrothgar)  with  Leire,  and  to  place 

elsewhere  the  great  hall  Heorot  which  he  built. 

In  the  first  place,  Rolf  Kraki  came  to  be  so  intimately  as- 
sociated with  Leire  that  his  connection  overshadowed  that  of 
Roe,  and  Saxo  even  goes  so  far  in  one  place  as  to  represent 
Leire  as  having  been  founded  by  Rolf^.  In  that  case  Leire 
clearly  could  not  be  the  place  where  Rolf's  predecessor  built 
his  royal  hall.  But  that  Saxo  is  in  error  here  seems  clear,  for 
elsewhere  he  himself  speaks  of  Leire  as  being  a  Danish  strong- 
hold when  Roy  was  a  child^. 

In  the  second  place,  Roe  is  credited  with  having  founded 
the  neighbouring  town  of  Roskilde  (Roe's  spring)^  so  that  some 
have"  wished  to  locate  Heorot  there,  rather  than  at  Leire,  five 
miles  to  the  west.  But  against  this  identification  of  Heorot 
with  Roskilde  it  must  be  noted  that  Roe  is  said  to  have  built 
Roskilde,  not  as  a  capital  for  himself,  but  as  a  market-place  for 
the  merchants:  there  is  no  suggestion  that  it  was  his  royal 
town,  though  in  time  it  became  the  capital,  and  its  cathedral 
is  still  the  Westminster  Abbey  of  Denmark. 

What  at  first  sight  looks  so  much  in  favour  of  our  equating 

1  Lethram  pergitur,  quod  oppidum,  a  Roluone  constructum  eximiisque  regni 
opihus  illustratum,  ceteris  confinium  prouinciarum  urbibus  regie  fundacionis  et 
sedis  auctoritate  prestabat.     Saxo,  Book  n  (ed.  Holder,  p.  58). 

2  His  cognitis  Helgo  filium  Roluonem  Lethrica  arce  conclusit,  heredis  saluti 
consulturus  (p.  52). 

3  A  Roe  Roskildia  condita  memoratur.  Saxo,  Book  n  (ed.  Holder,  p.  51). 
Roe's  spring,  after  being  a  feature  of  the  town  throughout  the  ages,  is  now 
(owing  perhaps  to  its  sources  having  been  tapped  by  a  neighbouring  mineral- 
water  factory)  represented  only  by  a  pump  in  a  market-garden. 


SECT,  iv]  Leire  and  Heorot  19 

Roskilde  with  Heorot — the  presence  in  its  name  of  the  element 
Ro  (Hrothgar) — is  in  reaUty  the  most  suspicious  thing  about 
the  identification.  There  are  other  names  in  Denmark  with 
the  element  Ro,  in  places  where  it  is  quite  impossible  to  suppose 
that  the  king's  name  is  commemorated.  Some  other  ex- 
planation of  the  name  has  therefore  to  be  sought,  and  it  is 
very  probable  that  Roskilde  meant  originally  not  "Hrothgar's 
spring,"  but  "the  horses'  spring,"  and  that  the  connection 
with  King  Ro  is  simply  one  of  those  inevitable  pieces  of  popular 
etymology  which  take  place  so  soon  as  the  true  origin  of  a 
name  is  forgotten^. 

Leire  has,  then,  a  much  better  claim  than  Roskilde  to  being 
the  site  of  Heorot:  and  geographical  considerations  confirm 
this.  For  Heorot  is  clearly  imagined  by  the  poet  of  Beowulf 
as  being  some  distance  inland;  and  this,  whilst  it  suits  ad- 
mirably the  position  of  Leire,  is  quite  inappHcable  to  Roskilde, 
which  is  situated  on  the  sea  at  the  head  of  the  Roskilde  fjord^. 
Of  course  we  must  not  expect  to  find  the  poet  of  Beowulf,  or 
indeed  any  epic  poet,  minutely  exact  in  his  geography.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  clear  that  at  the  time  Beowulf  was  written 
there  were  traditions  extant,  dealing  with  the  attack  made 
upon  Heorot  by  the  ancestral  foes  of  the  Danes,  a  tribe  called 
the  Heathobeardan.  These  accounts  of  the  fighting  around 
Heorot  must  have  preserved  the  general  impression  of  its 
situation,  precisely  as  from  the  Iliad  we  know  that  Troy  is 
neither  on  the  sea  nor  yet  very  remote  from  it.  A  poet  would 
draw  on  his  imagination  for  details,  but  would  hardly  alter 
a  feature  like  this. 

In  these  matters  absolute  certainty  cannot  be  reached: 
but  we  may  be  fairly  sure  that  the  spot  where  Hrothgar  built 
his  "Hart-Hall"  and  where  Hrothulf  held  that  court  to  which 
the  North  ever  after  looked  for  its  pattern  of  chivalry  was 

1  I  owe  this  paragraph  to  mformation  kindly  supplied  me  by  Dr  Sofus 
Larsen,  librarian  of  the  University  Library,  Copenhagen. 

2  It  was  once  believed  that,  in  prehistoric  times,  the  sea  came  up  to  Leire 
also  (Forchhammer.  Steenstrup  and  Worsaae:  Under s^gelser  i  geologisk-anti- 
qvarisk  Reining,  Kjjgbenhavn,  1851).  A  most  exact  scrutiny  of  the  geology 
of  the  coast-Une  has  proved  this  to  be  erroneous.  (Danmarks  geologiske 
Unders^gelse  T.R.  6.  Beskrivelse  til  Kaaribladene  Kj^henhavn  og  Roskilde,  af 
K.  Rje^rdam,  Kjj^benhavn,  1899.) 

2—2 


20  Leire  and  Heorot  [CH.  i 

1    Leire,  where  the  grave  mounds  rise  out  of  the  waving  corn- 


Section  V.     The  Heathobeaedan. 


Now,  as  Beowulf  is  the  one  long  Old  EngHsh  poem  which 
happens  to  have  been  preserved,  we,  drawing  our  ideas  of 
Old  English  stor;y^  almost  exclusively  from  it,  naturally  think 
of  Heorot  as  the  scene  of  the  fight  with  Grendel. 

But  in  the  short  poem  of  Widsith,  almost  certainly  older 
than  Beowulf,  we  have  a  catalogue  of  the  characters  of  the 
Old  English  heroic  poetry.  This  catalogue  is  dry  in  itself, 
but  is  of  the  greatest  interest  for  the  light  it  throws  upon  Old 
Germanic  heroic  legends  and  the  history  behind  them.  And 
from  Widsith  it  is  clear  that  the  rule  of  Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf 
at  Heorot  and  the  attack  of  the  Heathobeardan  upon  them, 
rather  than  any  story  of  monster- quelling,  was  what  the  old 
/  poets  more  particularly  associated  with  the  name  of  Heorot. 
The  passage  in  Widsith  runs: 

"For  a  very  long  time  did  Hrothgar  and  Hrothwulf,  uncle  and 
nephew,  hold  the  peace  together,  after  they  had  driven  away  the  race 
of  the  Vikings  and  humbled  the  array  of  Ingeld,  had  hewed  down  at 
Heorot  the  host  of  the  Heathobeardan." 

The  details  of  this  war  can  be  reconstructed,  partly  from 
the  allusions  in  Beowulf,  partly  from  the  Scandinavian  accounts. 
The  Scandinavian  versions  are  less  primitive  and  historic. 
They  have  forgotten  all  about  the  Heathobeardan  as  an  in- 
dependent tribe,  and,  whilst  remembering  the  names  of  the 
leading  chieftains  on  both  sides,  they  see  in  them  members  of 
two  rival  branches  of  the  Danish  royal  house. 

We  gather  from  Beowulf  that  for  generations  a  blood  feud 
has  raged  between  the  Danes  and  the  Heathobeardan.  Nothing 
is  told  us  in  Beowulf  about  the  king  Healfdelie,  except  that  he 

^  The  presence  at  Leire  of  early  remains  makes  it  tempting  to  suppose 
that  it  may  have  been  from  very  primitive  times  a  stronghold  or  sacred  place. 
It  is  impossible  here  to  examine  these  conjectures,  which  would  connect  Heorot 
ultimately  with  the  "sacred  place  on  the  isle  of  the  ocean"  mentioned  by 
Tacitus.  The  curious  may  be  referred  to  Much  in  P.B.B.  xvn,  196-8 ;  Mogk  in 
PauU  Grdr.  (2)  ra,  367 ;  Kock  in  the  Swedish  Historisk  Tidskrift,  1895,  162  etc. ; 
and  particularly  to  the  articles  by  Sarrazin :  Die  Hirsch  Halle  in  Anglia,  xix,. 
368-91,  Neue  Beovmlfstudien  {Der  Grendelsee)  in  Engl.  Stud,  xui,  6-15. 


SECT,  v]  The  Heathoheardan  21 

was  fierce  in  war  and  that  he  lived  to  be  old.  From  the  Scan- 
dinavian stories  it  seems  clear  that  he  was  concerned  in  the  ^ 
Heathobard  feud.  According  to  some  later  Scandinavian  ^ 
accounts  he  was  slain  by  Frothi  (=  Froda,  whom  we  know 
from  Beowulf  to  have  been  king  of  the  Heathoheardan)  and 
this  may  well  have  been  the  historic  fact^.  How  Hroar  and 
Helgi  (Hrothgar  and  Halga),  the  sons  of  Half  dan  (Healfdene), 
evaded  the  pursuit  of  Frothi,  we  learn  from  the  Scandinavian 
tales;  whether  the  Old  EngHsh  story  knew  anything  of  their 
hair-breadth  escapes  we  cannot  tell.  Ultimately,  the  saga  tells  ' 
us,  Hroar  and  Helgi,  in  revenge  for  their  father's  death,  burnt 
tlie  hall  over  the  head  of  his  slajer,  Frothi 2.  To  judge  from 
the  hints  in  Beowulf,  it  would  rather  seem  that  the  Old  English 
tradition  represented  this  vengeance  upon  Froda  as  having 
been  inflicted  in  a  pitched  battle.  The  eldest  brother  Heorogar 
— known  only  to  the  English  story — perhaps  took  his  share  in 
this  feat.  But,  after  his  brothers  Heorogar  and  Halga  were 
dead,  Hrothgar,  left  alone,  and  fearing  vengeance  in  his  turn, 
strove  to  compose  the  feud  by  wedding  his  daughter  Freawaru  *^^ 
to  Ingeld,  the  son  of  Froda.  So  much  we  learn  from  the 
report  which  Beowulf  gives,  on  his  return  home,  to  Hygelac, 
as  to  the  state  of  things  at  the  Danish  court. . 

Beowulf  is  depicted  as  carrying  a  very  sage  head  upon  his 
young  shoulders,  and  he  gives  evidence  of  his  astuteness  by 
predicting^  that  the  peace  which  Hrothgar  has  purchased  will 
not  be  lasting.  Some  Heathobard  survivor  of  the  fight  in 
which  Froda  fell,  will,  he  thinks,  see  a  young  Dane  in  the 
retinue  of  Freawaru  proudly  pacing  the  hall,  wearing  the 
treasures  which  his  father  had  won  from  the  Heathoheardan. 
Then  the  old  warrior  will  urge  on  his  younger  comrade  "Canst 
thou,  my  lord,  tell  the  sword,  the  dear  iron,  which  thy  father 
carried  to  the  fight  when  he  bore  helm  for  the  last  time,  when 
the  Danes  slew  him  and  had  the  victory?     And  now  the  son 

*  This  seems  to  me  much  more  probable  than,  as  Obik  supposes,  that  Froda 
fell  in  battle  against  Healfdene  {Skjoldungasaga,  162  [80]). 

2  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  cap.  iv. 

'  Olrik  wishes  to  read  the  whole  of  this  account,  not  as  a  prediction  in  the 
present  future  tense,  but  as  a  narrative  of  past  events  in  the  historic  present. 
{Heltedigtning,  i,  16:  n,  38.)  Considering  the  rarity  of  the  historic  present 
idiom  in  Old  English  poetry,  this  seems  exceedingly  unhkely. 


22  The  Heathoheardan  [CH.  i 

of  one  of  these  slayers  paces  the  hall,  proud  of  his  arms,  boasts 
of  the  slaughter  and  wears  the  precious  sword  which  thou  by 
right  shouldst  wield^." 

Such  a  reminder  as  this  no  Germanic  warrior  could  long 
resist.  So,  Beowulf  thinks,  the  young  Dane  will  be  slain: 
Ingeld  will  cease  to  take  joy  in  his  bride;  and  the  old  feud 
will  break  out  afresh. 

That  it  did  so  we  know  from  Widsith,  and  from  the  same 
source  we  know  that  this  Heathobard  attack  was  repulsed  by 
the  combined  strength  of  Hrothgar  and  his  nephew  Hrothulf . 

But  the  tragic  figure  of  Ingeld,  hesitating  between  love  for 
his  father  and  love  for  his  wife,  between  the  duty  of  vengeance 
and  his  plighted  word,  was  one  which  was  sure  to  attract  the 
interest  of  the  old  heroic  poets  more  even  than  those  of  the 
victorious  uncle  and  nephew.  In  the  eighth  century  Alcuin, 
the  Northumbrian,  quotes  Ingeld  as  the  typical  hero  of  song. 
Writing  to  a  bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  he  reproves  the  monks  for 
their  fondness  for  the  old  stories  about  heathen  kings,  who  are 
now  lamenting  their  sins  in  Hell:  "in  the  Kefectory,"  he  says, 
"  the  Bible  should  be  read :  the  lector  heard,  not  the  harper : 
patristic  sermons  rather  than  pagan  songs.  For  what  has 
Ingeld  to  do  with  Christ^?"  This  protest  testifies  eloquently 
to  the  popularity  of  the  Ingeld  story,  and  further  evidence  is 
possibly  afforded  by  the  fact  that  few  heroes  of  story  seem  to 
have  had  so  many  namesakes  in  Eighth  Century  England. 

What  is  emphasized  in  Beowulf  is  not  so  much  the  struggle 
in  the  mind  of  Ingeld  as  the  stern,  unforgiving  temper  of  the 
grim  old  warrior  who  will  not  let  the  feud  die  down ;  and  this 
is  the  case  also  with  the  Danish  versions,  preserved  to  us  in 
the  Latin  of  Saxo  Grammaticus.  In  two  songs  (translated  by 
Saxo  into  "deUghtful  sapphics")  the  old  warrior  Starcatherus 
stirs  up  Ingellus  to  his  revenge: 

"Why,  Ingeld,  buried  in  vice,  dost  thou  delay  to  avenge  thy  father  ? 
Wilt  thou  endure  patiently  the  slaughter  of  thy  righteous  sire?... 

1  U.  2047-2056. 

2  Verba  dei  legantur  in  sacerdotali  convivio ;  ihi  decet  lectorem  audiri,  non 
citharistam,  sermones  patrunif  non  carmina  gentilium.  Quid  Hinieldus  cum 
Christo?  See  Jaffe's  Monumenta  Alcuiniana  {Bibliotheca  Rer.  Oerm.  mi), 
Berlin,  1873,  p.  357;   Epistolae,  81. 


SECT,  v]  The  Heathoheardan  23 

Whilst  thou  takest  pleasure  in  honouring  thy  bride,  laden  with 
gems,  and  bright  with  golden  vestments,  grief  torments  us,  coupled 
with  shame,  as  we  bewail  thine  infamies. 

>^*  Whilst  headlong  lust  urges  thee,  our  troubled  mind  recalls  the 
fashion  of  an  earlier  day,  and  admonishes  us  to  grieve  over  many 
things. 

For  we  reckon  otherwise  than  thou  the  crime  of  the  foes,  whom 
now  thou  boldest  in  honour ;  wherefore  the  face  of  this  age  is  a  burden 
to  me,  who  have  known  the  old  ways. 

By  nought  more  would  I  desire  to  be  blessed,  if,  Froda,  I  might 
see  those^ guilty  of  thy  murder  paying  the  due  penalty  of  such  a 
crime*." 

Starkath  came  to  be  one  of  the  best-known  figures  in 
Scandinavian  legend,  the  type  of  the  fierce,  unrelenting  warrior. 
Even  in  death  his  severed  head  bit  the  earth :  or  according  to 
another  version  "  the  trunk  fought  on  when  the  head  was  gone^." 
Nor  did  the  Northern  imagination  leave  him  there.  It  loved 
to  follow  him  below,  and  to  indulge  in  conjectures  as  to  his 
bearing  in  the  pit  of  Hell^. 

Who  the  Heathobeardan  were  is  uncertain.  It  is  frequently 
argued  that  they  are  identical  with  the  Longobardi;  that  the  words 
Heatho-Bard  and  Long-Bard  correspond,  just  as  we  get  sometimes 
Gar-Dene,  sometimes  Hring-Dene.  (So  Heyne;  Bremer  in  Pauls 
Ordr.  (2)  in,  949  etc.)  The  evidence  for  this  is  however  unsatisfactory 
(see  Chambers,  Widsitli,  205).  Since  the  year  186  a.d.  onwards  the 
Longobardi  were  dwelling  far  inland,  and  were  certainly  never  in  a 
position  from  which  an  attack  upon  the  Danes  would  have  been 
practicable.  If,  therefore,  we  accept  the  identification  of  Heatho- 
Bard  and  Long-Bard,  we  must  suppose  the  Heathobeardan  of  Beowulf  ,• 
to  have  been  not  the  Longobardi  of  history,  but  a  separate  portion  of  the  ^ 
^^eople,  which  had  been  left  behind  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  when 
the  main  body  went  south.  But  as  we  have  no  evidence  for  any  such 
offshoot  from  the  main  tribe,  it  is  misleading  to  speak  of  the  Heatho- 
beardan as  identical  with  the  Longobardi :  and  although  the  similarity 
of  one  element  in  the  name  suggests  some  primitive  relationship, 
that  relationship  may  well  have  been  exceedingly  remote*. 

/        »  Saxo,  Book  vi  (ed.  Holder,  205,  212-13). 

The  contrast  between  this  Ijn'ical  outburst,  and  the  matter-of-fact  speech 
in  which  the  old  warrior  in  Beowulf  eggs  on  the  younger  man,  is  thoroughly 
characteristic  of  the  difference  between  Old  English  and  Old  Scandinavian 
heroic  poetry.  This  difference  is  very  noticeable  whenever  we  have  occasion 
to  compare  a  passage  in  Beowulf  with  any  parallel  passage  in  a  Scandinavian 
/poem,  and  should  be  carefully  pondered  by  those  who  still  beheve  that  Beoumlf 
is,  in  its  present  form,  a  translation  from  the  Scandinavian. 

=*  Saxo,  Book  vin  (ed.  Holder,  p.  274);  Helga  hvipa  Hundingsbana-,  ii,  19. 
See  also  Bugge,  Helge-digtene,  157. 

3  J)dttr  porsteins  Skelks  in  Flateyarhoh  (ed.  Vigfusson  and  Unger),  i,  416. 

rf^         *  Similarly,  there  is  certainly  a  primitive  connection  between  the  names 

p    of  the  Geatas  (Gautar)  and  of  the  Goths :   but  they  are  quite  distinct  peoples : 

we  should  not  be  justified  in  speaking  of  the  Geatas  as  identical  with  the  Goths. 


24  The  Heathoheardan  [CH.  i 

It  has  further  been  proposed  to  identify  the  Heathoheardan  with  th^ 
HeruH^.  The  Heruli  came  from  the  Scandinavian  district,  overran 
Europe,  and  became  famous  for  their  valour,  savagery,  and  value  as 
light-armed  troops.  If  the  Heathobeardan  are  identical  with  the 
^,  Heruli,  and  if  what  we  are  told  of  the  customs  of  the  HeruU  is  true, 
Freawaru  was  certainly  to  be  pitied.  The  Heruli  were  accustomed 
to  put  to  death  their  sick  and  aged  :  and  to  compel  widows  to  commit 
suicide. 

The  supposed  identity  of  the  Heruli  with  the  Heathobeardan  is 
however  very  doubtful.     It  rests  solely  upon  the  statement  of  Jordanes 

ythat  they  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Danes  {Dani... 
Herulos  propriis  sedibus  expulerunt).  This  is  inconclusive,  since  the 
growth  of  the  Danish  power  is  likely  enough  to  have  led  to  colHsions 
with  more  than  one  tribe.  In  fact  Beowulf  tells  us  that  Scyld  "tore 
away  the  mead  benches  from  many  a  people."  On  the  other  hand 
the  dissimilarity  of  names  is  not  conclusive  evidence  against  the 
identification,  for  the  word  Heruli  is  pretty  certainly  the  same  as  the 
Old  English  Eorlas,  and  is  a  complimentary  nick-name  appHed  by 
the  tribe  to  themselves,  rather  than  their  original  racial  designation. 
(/  v/  Nothing,  then,  is  really  known  of  the  Heathobeardan,  except  that 

evidence  points  to  their  having  dwelt  somewhere  on  the  Baltic^. 

The  Scandinavian  sources  which  have  preserved  the  memory  of 
this  feud  have  transformed  it  in  an  extraordinary  way.  The  Heatho- 
beardan came  to  be  quite  forgotten,  although  maybe  some  trace  of 
their  name  remains  in  Hothbrodd,  who  is  represented  as  the  foe  of 
Roe  (Hrothgar)  and  Rolf  (Hrothulf ).  When  the  Heathobeardan  were 
/  forgotten,  Froda  and  Ingeld  were  left  without  any  subjects,  and 
naturally  came  to  be  regarded,  like  Healfdene  and  the  other  kings 
with  whom  they  were  associated  in  story,  as  Danish  kings.  Ac- 
cordingly the  tale  developed  in  Scandinavian  lands  in  two  ways. 

,  Some  documents,  and  especially  the  Icelandic  ones^,  represent  the 

/  struggle  as  a  feud  between  two  branches  of  the  Danish  royal  house. 
Even  here  there  is  no  agreement  who  is  the  usurper  and  who  the 
victim,  so  that  sometimes  it  is  Froda  and  sometimes  Healfdene  who 
is  represented  as  the  traitor  and  murderer. 

But  another  version* — the  Danish — ^whilst  making  Froda  and 
Ingeld  into  Danish  kings,  separates  their  story  altogether  from  that 
of  Healfdene  and  his  house :  in  this  version  the  quarrel  is  still  thought 
.of  as  being  between  two  nations,  not  as  between  the  rightful  heir  to 

V  the  throne  and  a  treacherous  and  relentless  usurper.  Accordingly 
the  feud  is  such  as  may  be,  at  any  rate  temporarily,  laid  aside:  peace 
between  the  contending  parties  is  not  out  of  the  question.  This 
version  therefore  preserves  much  more  of  the  original  character  of 
the  story,  for  it  remains  the  tale  of  a  young  prince  who,  willing  to 
marry  into  the  house  of  his  ancestral  foes  and  to  forgive  and  forget 
the  old  feud,  is  stirred  by  his  more  uurelenting  nenchman  into  taking 
vengeance  for  his  father.  But,  owing  to  the  prince  having  come  to 
be  represented  as  a  Dane,  patriotic  reasons  have  suggested  to  the 

1  MiiUenhoff  {Beovulf,  29-32)  followed  by  Much  {P.B.B.  xvir,  201)  and 
Heinzel  {A.f.d.A.  xvi,  271).  The  best  account  of  the  Heruli  is  in  Procopius 
{Bell  Gott.  n,  14,  15). 

2  See  also  Olrik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  21,  22:  Sarrazin  in  Ev^l.  Stud.  XLn,  li: 
Bugge,  Helgi-digtene,  151-63;  181:  Chambers,  Widsith,  p.  82  (note),  pp.  205-6. 

*  Saga  of  Rolf  KraTci :    Skjoldungasaga. 

*  Best  represented  in  Saxo. 


SECT,  v]  The  Heathoheardan  i^i> 

Danish  poets  and  historians  a  quite  different  conclusion  to  the  story. 
Instead  of  being  routed,  Ingeld,  in  Saxo,  is  successful  in  his  revenge. 
See  Neckel,  Studien  iiber  Froffi  in  Z.j.d.A.  XLvm,  182 :  Heusler,  Zur 
SkioldungendicUung  in  Z.j.d.A.  XLvnr,  57 :  Olrik,  Skjoldungasaga,  1894, 
112  [30];  Okik,  Heltedigtning,  ii,  11  etc.:  Okik,  Sakses  Oldhistorie, 
222-6:  Chambers,  Widsith,  pp.  79-81. 


Section  VI.    Hrothulf.  \j 

Yet,  although  the  Icelandic  sources  are  wrong  in  repre-  ^ 
senting  Froda  and  Ingeld  as  Danes,  they  are  not  altogether 
wrong  in   representing   the   Danish   royal   house   as   divided  •^ 
against  itself.     Only  they  fail  to  place  the  blame  where  it 
really  lay.     For  none  of  the  Scandinavian  sources  attribute   y 
any  act  of  injustice  or  usurpation  to  Rolf  Kraki.     He  is  the 
ideal  king,  and  his  title  to  the  throne  is  not  supposed  to  be 
doubtful. 

Yet  we  saw  that,  in  Beowulf,  the  position  of  Hrothulf  is  - 
represented  as  an  ambiguous  one^,  he  is  the  king's  too  powerful  y 
nephew,  whose  claims  may  prejudice  those  of  his  less  dis- 
tinguished young  cousins,  the  king's  sons,  and  the  speech  of 
queen  Wealhtheow  is  heavy  with  foreboding.  "I  know,"  she 
says,  "that  my  gracious  Hrothulf  will  support  the  young  princes 
in  honour,  if  thou,  King  of  the  Scyldings,  shouldst  leave  the 
world  sooner  than  he.  I  ween  that  he  will  requite  our  children, 
if  he  remembers  all  which  we  two  have  done  for  his  pleasure 
and  honour,  being  yet  a  child^."  Whilst  Hrethric  and  Hroth- 
mund,  the  sons  of  King  Hrothgar,  have  to  sit  with  the  juniors, 
the  giogoth^,  Hrothulf  is  a  man  of  tried  valour,  who  sits  side 
by  side  with  the  king:  "where  the  two  good  ones  sat,  uncle 
and  nephew:  as  yet  was  there  peace  between  them,  and  each 
was  true  to  the  other*." 

Again    we    have    mention    of    "Hrothgar    and    Hrothulf. 
Heorot  was  filled  full  of  friends :  at  that  time  the  mighty  Scylding^ 
folk  in  no  wise  worked  treachery^."     Similarly  in  Widsith  the 
mention  of  Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf  together  seems  to  stir  the   / 
poet  to  dark  sayings.     "  For  a  very  long  time  did  JIiothgaT  a.naA    7 
Hrothulf,  uncle  and  nephew,  hold  the  peace  together*." 

1  See  above,  p.  15.  ^  u.  1180-87.  ^  U.  1188-91. 

«  U.  1163-5.  6  11^  1017-19.  «  U.  45-6. 


^6  Hrothulf  [CH.  i 

The  statement  that  "as_vet"  or  "for  a  very  long  time" 
or  "at  that  time"  there  was  peace  within  the  family,  neces- 
y  sarily  implies  that,  at  last,  the  peace  was  broken,  that  Hrothulf 
quarrelled  with  Hrothgar,  or  strove  to  set  aside  his  sons^. 

Further  evidence  is  hardly  needed;    yet  further  evidence 
we  have:  by  rather  compHcated,  but  quite  unforced,  fitting 
.   together   of  various   Scandinavian   authorities,   we  find   that 
Hrothulf  deposed  and  slew  his  cousin  Hrethric. 

Saxo  Grammaticus  tells  us  how  Eoluo  (Rolf  =  O.N.  Hrolfr, 
O.E.  Hrothulf)  slew  a  certain  Rj^ricus  (or  Hrserek  =  O.E. 
Hrethric)  and  gave  to  his  own  followers  all  the  plunder  which  he 
found  in  the  city  of  R^ricus.  Saxo  is  here  translating  an  older 
authority,  the  Bjarkamdl  (now  lost),  and  he  did  not  know  who 
R^ricus  was:  he  certainly  did  not  regard  him  as  a  son  or 
successor  of  Roe  (Hrothgar)  or  as  a  cousin  of  Roluo  (Hrothulf). 
"Roluo,  who  laid  low  R^ricus  the  son  of  the  covetous  B^kus'^ 
is  Saxo's  phrase  (qui  natum  B^ki  R^ricum  stravit  avari). 
This  would  be  a  translation  of  some  such  phrase  in  the 
Bjarkamdl  as  Hra3reks  hani  hn^ggvanbauga,  "the  slayer  of 
Hraerek  Hnoggvanbaugi^." 

But,  when  we  turn  to  the  genealogy  of  the  Danish  kings  ^,  we 
actually  find  a  Hrmrekr  Hnauggvanbaugi  given  as  a  king  of 
Denmark  about  the  time  of  Roluo.  This  R^ricus  or  Hrasrekr 
who  was  slain  by  Roluo  was  then,  himself,  a  king  of  the  Danes, 
and  must,  therefore,  have  preceded  Roluo  on  the  throne.  But 
in  that  case  R^ricus  must  be  son  of  Roe,  and  identical  with 
his  namesake  Hrethric,  the  son  of  Hrothgar,  in  Beowulf.  For 
no  one  but  a  son  of  King  Roe  could  have  had  such  a  claim  to 
the  throne  as  to  rule  between  that  king  and  his  all  powerful 
nephew  Roluo^. 

It  is  difficult,  perhaps,  to  state  this  argument  in  a  way 
which  will  be  convincing  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with 
Saxo's  method  of  working.     To  those  who  realize  how  he  treats 

^  For  a  contrary  view  see  Clarke,  Sidelights,  100. 

2  Saxo  has  mistaken  a  title  hn/jggvanbaugi  for  a  father's  name,  (hins) 
hn^ggva  Bangs  "(son  of  the)  covetous  Baug." 

3  LangfeSgatal  in  Langebek,  r,  5.  The  succession  given  in  LangfelTgatal  is 
Halfdan,  Helgi  and  Hroar,  Rolf,  Hraerek:  it  should,  of  course,  run  Halfdan, 
Helgi  and  Hroar,  Hraerek,  Rolf,  Hraerek  has  been  moved  from  his  proper 
place  in  order  to  clear  Rolf  of  any  suspicion  of  usurpation. 


SECT,  vi]  Hrothtdf  27 

his  sources,  it  will  be  clear  that  R^ricus  is  the  son  of  Roe,  and 
is   slain   by   Roluo.     Translating   the   words   into   their    Old^j^ 
English  equivalents,  Hrethric,  son  of  Hrothgar,  is  slain  by 
Hrothulf. 

The  forebodings  of  Wealhtheow  were  justified. 

Hrethric  is  then  almost  certainly  an  actual  historic  prince 
who  was  thrust" from  the  throne  by  Hrothulf.  Of  Hrothmund^, 
his  brother,  Scandinavian  authorities  seem  to  know  nothing. 
He  is  very  likely  a  poetical  fiction,  a  duplicate  of  Hrethric. 
For  it  is  very  natural  that  in  story  the  princes  whose  lives  are 
threatened  by  powerful  usurpers  should  go  in  pairs.  Hrethric 
and  Hrothmund  go  together  like  Malcolm  and  Donalbain. 
Their  helplessness  is  thus  emphasized  over  against  the  one 
mighty  figure,  Rolf  or  Macbeth,  threatening  them^. 

Yet  this  does  not  prove  Hrothmund  unhistoric.  On  the 
contrary  it  may  well  happen  that  the  facts  of  history  will 
coincide  with  the  demands  of  well-ordered  narrative,  as  was 
the  case  when  Richard  of  Gloucester  murdered  two  young 
princes  in  the  Tower. 

Two  other  characters,  who  meet  us  in  Beowulf,  seem  to 
have  some  part  to  play  in  this  tragedy. 

It  was  a  maxim  of  the  old  Teutonic  poetry,  as  it  is  of  the 
British  Constitution,  that  the  king  could  do  no  wrong:  the 
real  fault  lay  with  the  adviser.  If  Ermanaric  the  Goth  slew 
his  wife  and  his  son,  or  if  Irminfrid  the  Thuringian  unwisely 
challenged  Theodoric  the  Frank  to  battle,  this  was  never 
supposed  to  be  due  solely  to  the  recklessness  of  the  monarch 
himself — it  was  the  work  of  an  evil  counsellor — a  Bikki  or  an 
Iring.  Now  we  have  seen  that  there  is  mischief  brewing  in 
Heorot — and  we  are  introduced  to  a  counsellor  Unferth,  the  i 
thyle  or  official  spokesman  and  adviser  of  King  Hrothgar. 
And  Unferth  is  evil.  His  jealous  temper  is  shown  by  the  hostile 
and  inhospitable  reception  which  he  gives  to  Beowulf.  And 
Beowulf's  reply  gives  us  a  hint  of  some  darker  stain :  "  though 

1  1.  1189. 

^  See  Olrik,  Episke  Love  in  Daiiske  Studier,  1908,  p.  79.  Compare  the 
remark  of  Goethe  in  Wilhelm  Meister,  as  to  the  necessity  of  there  being  both 
a  Rosencrantz  arid  a  Guildenstem  {Apprenticeship^  Book  V,  chap.  v). 


28  Hrothidf  [CH.  i 

thou  hast  been  the  slayer  of  thine  own  brethren — thy  flesh  and 
blood :  for  that  thou  shalt  suffer  damnation  in  hell,  good  though 
thy  wit  may  be^."  One  might  perhaps  think  that  Beowulf  in 
these  words  was  only  giving  the  "countercheck  quarrelsome," 
and  indulging  in  mere  reckless  abuse,  just  as  Sinfjotli  (the 
Fitela  of  Beowulf)  in  the  First  Helgi  Lay  hurls  at  his  foes  all 
kinds  of  outrageous  charges  assuredly  not  meant  to  be  taken 
literally.  But,  as  we  learn  from  the  Helgi  Lay  itself,  the 
uttering  of  such  unfounded  taunts  was  not  considered  good 
form ;  whilst  it  seems  pretty  clear  that  the  speech  of  Beowulf 
to  Unferth  is  intended  as  an  example  of  justifiable  and  spirited 
self-defence,  not,  like  the  speech  of  SinfjotH,  as  a  storehouse  of 
things  which  a  well-mannered  warrior  should  not  say. 

Besides,  the  taunt  of  Beowulf  is  confirmed,  although  but 
darkly,  by  the  poet  himself,  in  the  same  passage  in  which  he 
has  recorded  the  fears  of  Wealhtheow  lest  perhaps  Hrothulf 
should  not  be  loyal  to  Hrothgar  and  his  issue:  "Likewise 
there  Unferth  the  counsellor  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  lord  of  the 
Scyldingas:  each  of  them  [i.e.  both  Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf] 
^  ^  trusted  to  his  spirit :  that  his  courage  was  great,  though  he  had 
not  done  his  duty  by  his  kinsmen  at  the  sword-play  ^.^^ 

But,  granting  that  Unferth  has  really  been  the  cause  of  the 
death  of  his  kinsmen,  some  scholars  have  doubted  whether  we 
are  to  suppose  that  he  literally  slew  them  himself.  For,  had 
that  been  the  case,  they  urge,  he  could  not  be  occupying  a  place 
of  trust  with  the  almost  ideal  king  Hrothgar.  But  the  record 
of  the  historians  makes  it  quite  clear  that  murder  of  kin  did 
happen,  and  that  constantly^.  Amid  the  tragic  complexities 
of  heroic  life  it  often  could  not  be  avoided.  The  comitatus- 
system,  by  which  a  man  was  expected  to  give  unflinching 
support  to  any  chief  whose  service  he  had  entered,  must  often 
/  have  resulted  in  slaughter  between  men  united  by  very  close 
bonds  of  kin  or  friendship.  Turning  from  history  to  saga,  we  find 
some  of  the  greatest  heroes  not  free  from  the  stain.     Sigmund, 

1  11.  587-9.  2  u^  1165-8. 

'  Perhaps  such  murder  of  kin  was  more  common  among  the  aristocratic 
houses  than  among  the  bulk  of  the  population  (Chadwick,  H.A.  348).  In  some 
great  families  it  almost  becomes  the  rule,  producing  a  state  of  things  similar 
to  that  in  present  day  Afghanistan,  where  it  has  become  a  proverb  that  a  man 
is  "as  great  an  enemy  as  a  cousin"  (Pennell,  Afghan  Frontier,  30). 


SECT,  vi]  Hrothidf  ')  29 

Gunnar,  Hogni,  Atli,  Hrothulf,  Heoroweard,  Hnaef,  Eadgils, 
Haethcyn,  Ermanaric  and  Hildebrand  were  all  marred  with  this 
taint,  and  indeed  were,  in  many  cases,  rather  to  be  pitied 
than  blamed.  I  doubt,  therefore,  whether  we  need  try  and 
save  Unferth's  character  by  suggesting  that  the  stern  words 
of  the  poet  mean  only  that  he  had  indirectly  caused  the  death 
of  his  brethren  by  failing  them,  in  battle,  at  some  critical 
moment^.  I  suspect  that  this,  involving  cowardice  or  incom- 
petence, would  have  been  held  the  more  unpardonable  offence, 
and  would  have  resulted  in  Unferth's  disgrace.  But  a  man 
might  well  have  slain  his  kin  under  circumstances  which, 
while  leaving  a  blot  on  his  record,  did  not  necessitate  his 
banishment  from  good  society.  All  the  same,  the  poet  evi- 
dently thinks  it  a  weakness  on  the  part  of  Hrothgar  and 
Hrothulf  that,  after  what  has  happened,  they  still  put  their 
trust  in  Unferth. 

Here  then  is  the  situation.  The  king  has  a  counsellor :  I  v 
that  counsellor  is  evil.  Both  the  king  and  his  nephew  trust  v 
the  evil  counsellor.  A  bitter  feud  springs  up  between  the  king 
and  his  nephew.  That  the  feud  was  due  to  the  machinations 
of  the  evil  adviser  can  hardly  be  doubted  by  those  who  have 
studied  the  ways  of  the  old  Germanic  heroic  story.  But  it 
is  only  an  inference:    positive  proof  we  have  none.^ 


Lastly,    there   is    Heoroweard.     Of   him    we    are    told   in 

Beowulf  very  little.     He  is   son   of   Heorogar   (or   Heregar), 

Hrothgar' s  elder  brother,  who  was  apparently  king  before  him, 

but  died  young^.     It  is  quite  natural,  as  we  have  seen,  that, 

if  Heoroweard  was  too  young  for  the  responsibility  when  his 

father  died,  he  should  not  have  succeeded  to  the  throne.     What 

is  not  so  natural  is  that  he  does  not  inherit  his  father's  arms, 

which  one  might  reasonably  have  supposed  Hrothgar  would 

have  preserved,  to  give  to  him  when  he  came  of  age.     Instead, 

Hrothgar  gives  them  to  Beowulf^.    Does  Hrothgar  deliberately 

avoid  doing   honour   to   Heoroweard,  because   he   fears   that 

any  distinction  conferred  upon  him  would  strengthen  a  rival 

^  This  is  proposed  by  Cosijn  {Aanteekeningen,  21)  and  again  independently 
by  Lawrence  in  M.L.N,  xxv,  167. 

2  11.  467-9.  3  u.  2155-62. 

s ; ,       .  y      V  ,  / . ,  ^         -I         .       .  .ft        1    7 


Y 


30  Hrotkulf  [CH.  I 

whose  claims  to  the  throne  might  endanger  those  of  his  own 
sons?  However  this  may  be,  in  any  future  struggle  for  the 
throne  Heoroweard  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  play  some 
part. 
V  Turning  now  to  Saxo,  and  to  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  we 
find  that  Rolf  owed  his  death  to  the  treachery  of  one  whose 

^name  corresponds  exactly  to  that  of  Heoroweard — Hiarwarus 
(Saxo),  Hj^rvarthr  {Saga).  Neither  Saxo  nor  the  Saga  thinks 
of  Hiarwarus  as  the  cousin  of  Rolf  Kraki :  they  do  not  make 
it  really  clear  what  the  cause  of  his  enmity  was.  But  they  tell 
us  that,  after  a  banquet,  he  and  his  men  treacherously  rose 
upon  Rolf  and  his  warriors.  The  defence  which  Rolf  and  his 
men  put  up  in  their  burning  hall :  the  loyalty  and  defiance  of 
Rolf's  champions,  invincible  in  death — these  were  amongst  the 
most  famous  things  of  the  North;  they  were  told  in  the 
BjarJcamdl,  now  unfortunately  extant  in  Saxo's  paraphrase 
only. 

But  the  triumph  of  Hiarwarus  was  brief.     Rolf's  .men  all 

^fell  around  him,  save  the  young  Wiggo,  who  had  previously, 
in  the  confidence  of  youth,  boasted  that,  should  Rolf  fall,  he 
would  avenge  him.  Astonished  at  the  loyalty  of  Rolf's  cham- 
pions, Hiarwarus  expressed  regret  that  none  had  taken  quarter, 
declaring  that  he  would  gladly  accept  the  service  of  such  men. 
Whereupon  Wiggo  came  from  the  hiding-place  where  he  had 
taken  refuge,  and  offered  to  do  homage  to  Hiarwarus,  by 
placing  his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his  new  lord's  sword:  but  in 
doing  so  he  drove  the  point  through  Hiarwarus,  and  rejoiced 
as  he  received  his  death  from  the  attendants  of  the  foe  he  had 
slain.  It  shows  how  entirely  the  duty  of  vengeance  w^as  felt 
to  outweigh  all  other  considerations,  that  this  treacherous  act 

Joi  Wiggo  is  always  spoken  of  with  the  highest  praise. 

For  the  story  of  the  fall  of  Rolf  and  his  men  see  Saxo,  Book  ii 
(ed.  Holder,  pp.  55-68) :  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  caps.  32-34:  Skjoldunga 
Saga  (ed.  Okik,  1894,  36-7  [118-9]). 

How  the  feud  between  the  different  members  of  the  Danish  family 
forms  the  background  to  Beowulf  was  first  explained  in  full  detail  'by 
Ludvig  Schr0der  {Om  Bjovulfs-drapen.  Efter  en  raskke  foredrag  pa 
folke-hojskolen  i  Askov,  kj0benhavn,  1875).  Schr0der  showed  how 
the  bad  character  of  Unferth  has  its  part  to  play:  "It  is  a  weakness 
in  Hrothgar  that  he  entrusts  important  office  to  such  a  man — a 


SEC\  viil  Khig  Ofa  S3 

weakness  which  will  carry  its  punishment."  Independently  the 
domestic  feud  was  demonstrated  again  by  Sarrazin  (Bolf  Krake  und 
sein  vetter  im  Beowulf  liede'.  Engl.  Stud,  xxiv,  144-5).  The  story  has 
been  fully  worked  out  by  Olrik  {Heltedigtning,  1903,  i,  11-18  etc.). 

These  views  have  been  disputed  by  Miss  Clarke  (Sidelights,  102), 
who  seems  to  regard  as  "hypotheses"  of  Olrik  data  which  have  been 
ascertained  facts  for  more  than  a  generation.  Miss  Clarke's  contentions, 
however,  appear  to  me  to  be  based  upon  a  misunderstanding  of  Olrik. 

Section  VII.    King  Offa. 

1       The  poem,  then,  is  mainly  concerned  with  the  deeds  of 
J  Geatic  and  Danish  kings :    only  once  is  reference  made  to  a 
king  of  Anglian  stock — Offa. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  tells  us  of  several  kings  named  y' 
Offa,  but  two  only  concern  us  here.     Still  remembered  is  the 
historic  tyrant-king  who  reigned  over  Mercia  during  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighth  century,  and  who  was  celebrated  through 
the  Middle  Ages  chiefly  as  the  founder  of  the  great  abbey  of  '^ 
St  Albans.     This  Ofla  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  Offa  the 
Second,  because  he  had  a  remote  ancestor,  Offa  I,  who,  if  the 
Mercian   pedigree   can   be   trusted,   lived   twelve   generations 
earlier,   and  therefore  presumably  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
fourth  century.     Offa  I,  then,  must  have  ruled  over  the  Angles  >^ 
whilst  they  were  still  dwelling  in  Angel,  their  continental  home, 
in  or  near  the  modern  Schleswig. 

Now  the  Offa  mentioned  in  Beowulf  is  spoken  of  as  related      ^ 
to  Garmund  and  Eomer  (ms  geomor).     This,  apart  from  the 
abundant  further  evidence,  is  sufficient  to  identify  him  with 
Offa  I,  who  was,  according  to  the  pedigree,  the  son  of  Waermund  ^ 
and  the  grandfather  of  Eomer. 

This  Offa  I,  king  of  Angel,  is  referred  to  in  Widsiih.  Widsith 
is  a  composite  poem :  the  passage  concerning  Offa,  though  not 
the  most  obviously  primitive  portion  of  it,  is,  nevertheless, 
early:  it  may  well  be  earUer  than  Beowulf.  After  a  list  of 
famous  chieftains  we  are  told: 

Offa  ruled  Angel,  Alewih  the  Danes ;  he  was  the  boldest  of  all 
these  men,  yet  did  he  not  in  his  deeds  of  valour  surpass  Offa.  But 
Offa  gained,  first  of  men,  by  arms  the  greatest  of  kingdoms  whilst 
yet  a  boy ;  no  one  of  equal  age  ever  did  greater  deeds  of  valour  in 
battle  with  his  single  sword:  he  drew  the  boundary  against  the 
Myrgingas  at  Fifeldor.  The  boundaries  were  held  afterwards  by  the 
Angles  and  the  Swaefe  as  Offa  struck  it  out. 


30  Hrothulf  [cji.  i 

Mucli  is  obscure  here:  more  particularly  our  ignorance  as 
to  the  Myrgingas  is  to  be  regretted:  but  there  is  reason  for 
thinking  that  they  were  a  people  dwelling  to  the  south  of  the 
old  continental  home  of  the  Angles. 

After  the  lapse  of  some  five  centuries,  we  get  abundant 
further  information  concerning  Offa.  The  legends  about  him, 
though  carried  to  England  by  the  Anglian  conquerors,  must 
also  have  survived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  old  kingdom  of 

\/  Angel :  for  as  Angel  was  incorporated  into  the  Danish  kingdom, 
so  these  stories  became  part  of  the  stock  of  Danish  national 
legend.     OfEa  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  Danish  king,  and  his 

>^  story  is  told  at  length  by  the  two  earliest  historians  of  Denmark, 
Sweyn  Aageson  and  Saxo  Grammaticus.  In  Saxo  the  story 
runs  thus: 

Wermund,  king  of  Denmark,  had  a  son  Uifo  [Offa],  tall 
beyond  the  measure  of  his  age,  but  dull  and  speechless.  When 
Wermund  grew  blind,  his  southern  neighbour,  the  king  of 
Saxony,  laid  claim  to  Denmark  on  the  ground  that  he  was  no 
longer  fit  to  rule,  and,  relying  upon  Ufio's  incapacity,  suggested 
that  the  quarrel  should  be  decided  by  their  two  sons  in  single 
combat.  Wermund,  in  despair,  offered  himself  to  fight,  in 
spite  of  his  blindness :  this  offer  the  envoys  of  the  Saxon  king 
refused  with  insult,  and  the  Danes  knew  not  what  to  say. 
Thereupon  Ufio,  who  happened  to  be  present,  suddenly  asked 
leave  to  speak.  Wermund  could  not  believe  that  it  was  really 
his  son  who  had  spoken,  but  when  they  all  assured  him  that 
it  was,  he  gave  the  permission.  "In  vain,"  then  said  Ufio, 
"does  the  king  of  Saxony  covet  the  land  of  Denmark,  which 
trusts  to  its  true  king  and  its  brave  nobles:  neither  is  a  son 
wanting  to  the  king  nor  a  successor  to  the  kingdom."  And 
he  offered  to  fight  not  only  the  Saxon  prince,  but  any  chosen 
champion  the  prince  might  bring  with  him. 

The  Saxon  envoys  accepted  the  offer  and  departed.  The 
blind  king  was  at  last  convinced,  by  passing  his  hands  over  him, 
that  the  speaker  had  been  in  truth  his  son.  But  it  was  found 
difficult  to  arm  him;  for  his  broad  chest  split  the  rings  of 
every  coat  of  mail:  the  largest,  his  father's,  had  to  be  cleft 
down  the  side  and  fastened  with  a  clasp.     Likewise  no  sword 


SECT,  vii]  King  Offa  33 

was  so  well  tempered  that  he  did  not  shatter  it  by  merely 
brandishing  it,  till  the  old  king  directed  his  men  how  they 
might  find  his  ancient  sword,  Skrep  (=  ?  stedfast)  which  he 
had  buried,  in  despair,  thinking  his  son  unworthy  of  it.  The 
sword,  when  found,  was  so  frail  from  age  that  Uffo  did  not 
test  it :  for  Wermund  told  him  that,  if  he  broke  it,  there  was 
no  other  left  strong  enough  for  him. 

So  Uffo  and  his  two  antagonists  were  taken  to  the  place  of 
combat,  an  island  in  the  river  Eider.  Crowds  lined  either 
bank,  and  Wermund  stood  prepared  to  throw  himself  into  the 
river  should  his  son  be  slain.  UfEo  held  back  at  first,  till  he 
had  discovered  which  of  his  antagonists  was  the  more  dangerous, 
since  he  feared  the  sword  would  only  be  good  for  one  blow. 
Then,  having  by  his  taunts  induced  the  champion  to  come  to 
close  quarters,  he  clove  him  asunder  with  one  stroke.  Wermund 
cried  out  that  he  had  heard  the  sound  of  his  son's  sword,  and 
asked  where  the  blow  had  fallen:  his  attendants  assured  him 
that  it  had  pierced,  not  any  particular  part,  but  the  man's 
whole  structure. 

So  Wermund  drew  back  from  the  edge,  desiring  Hfe  now  as 
keenly  as  before  he  had  longed  for  death.  Finally  Uffo  smote 
his  second  antagonist  through,  thus  opening  a  career  which 
after  such  a  beginning  we  may  well  believe  to  have  been 
glorious. 

The  story  is  told  again  by  Sweyn  Aageson  in  a  slightly  ^ 
varying  form.  Sweyn's  story  has  some  good  traits  of  its  own 
— as  when  it  makes  Uffo  enter  the  Usts  girt  with  two  swords, 
intending  to  use  his  father's  only  in  an  emergency.  The 
worthless  sword  breaks,  and  all  the  Danes  quake  for  fear: 
whereupon  Uffo  draws  the  old  sword  and  achieves  the  victory. 
But  above  all  Sweyn  Aageson  tells  us  the  reason  of  Uffo's 
dumbness  and  incapacity,  which  Saxo  leaves  obscure:  it  was 
the  result  of  shame  over  the  deeds  of  two  Danes  who  had 
combined  to  avenge  their  father  upon  a  single  foe.  What  is 
the  incident  referred  to  we  can  gather  from  Saxo.  Two  Danes, 
Keto  and  Wigo,  whose  father  Frowinus  had  been  slain  by  a 
hostile  king  Athislus,  attacked  Athislus  together,  two  to  one,  thus 
breaking  the  laws  of  the  duel.     Uifo  had  wedded  the  sister  of 

O.  B.  3 


34  King  Offa  [CH.  i 

Keto  and  Wigo,  and  it  was  in  order  to  wipe  out  the  stain  left 

^upon  his  family  and  his  nation  by  their  breach  of  duelUng 
etiquette  that  he  insisted  upon  fighting  single-handed  against 
two  opponents. 

That  this  incident  was  also  known  in  England  is  rendered 
probable  by  the  fact  that  Freawine  and  Wig,  who  correspond 
to  Saxo's  Frowinus  and  Wiggo,  are  found  in  the  genealogy  of 
English  kings,  and  that  an  Eadgils,  king  of  the  Myrgingas,  who 
is  almost  certainly  the  Athislus  of  Saxo^,  also  appears  in  Old 
English  heroic  poetry.  It  is  probable  then  that  the  two  tales 
were  connected  in  Old  Enghsh  story :  the  two  brethren  shame- 
fully combine  to  avenge  their  father:  in  due  time  the  family 
of  the  slain  foe  take  up  the  feud:  Ofia  saves  his  country  and 
his  country's  honour  by  voluntarily  undertaking  to  fight  one 
against  two. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  Danish  ecclesiastics  were 
^  at  work,  a  monk  of  St  Albans  was  committing  to  Latin  the 

^  English  stories  which  were  still  current  concerning  OfEa.     The 

object  of  the  English  writer  was,  however,  local  rather  than 

national.     He  wrote  the  Vitae  duorum  Offarum  to  celebrate 

the  historic  Ofia,  king  of  Mercia,  the  founder  of  his  abbey,  and 

/that  founder's  ancestor,  Offa  I :  popular  tradition  had  confused 

i/  the  two,  and  much  is  told  concerning  the  Mercian  Offa  that 
seems  to  belong  more  rightly  to  his  forefather.  The  St  Albans 
writer  drew  upon  contemporary  tradition,  and  it  is  evident  that 
in  certain  cases,  as  when  he  gives  two  sets  of  names  to  some  of 
the  chief  actors  in  the  story,  he  is  trying  to  harmonize  two 
distinct  versions :  he  makes  at  least  one  error  which  seems  to 
point  to  a  written  source^.  In  one  of  the  mss  the  story  is 
illustrated  by  a  series  of  very  artistic  drawings,  which  might 
possibly  be  from  the  pen  of  Matthew  Paris  himself^.  These 
drawings  depict  a  version  of  the  story  which  in  some  respects 
differs  from  the  Latin  text  which  they  accompany. 

I  The  story  is  located  in  England.  Warmundus  is  repre- 
sented as  a  king  of  the  Western  Angles,  ruling  at  Warwick. 

^  See  Widsith,  ed.  Chambers,  pp.  92-4. 

2  See  Rickert,  "  The  Old  English  Offa  Saga"  in  Mod.  Phil  n,  esp.  p.  75. 
*  The  common  ascription  of  the  Lives  of  the  Offas  to  Matthew  Paris  is 
erroneous:   they  are  somewhat  earlier. 


»   ■»  »       « 
»    *     *     » 

^«  •     •  • 


PLATE  III 


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SECT,  vii]  King  Offa  35 

Offa,  his  only  son,  was  blind  till  his  seventh,  dumb  till  his 
thirtieth  year.  Accordingly  an  ambitious  noble,  Riganus, 
otherwise  called  Aliel,  claims  to  be  recognized  heir,  in  hope 
of  gaining  the  throne  for  his  son,  Hildebrand  (Brutus).  OfEa 
gains  the  gift  of  speech  in  answer  to  prayer;  to  the  joy  of  his 
father  and  the  councillors  he  vindicates  his  right,  much  as  in 
the  Danish  story.  He  is  knighted  with  a  chosen  body  of 
companions,  armed,  and  leads  the  host  to  meet  the  foe.  He 
dashes  across  the  river  which  separates  the  two  armies,  although 
his  followers  hang  back.  This  act  of  cowardice  on  their  part 
is  not  explained:  it  is  apparently  a  reminiscence  of  an  older 
version  in  which  Ofia  fights  his  duel  single  handed  by  the  river, 
and  his  host  look  on.  The  armies  join  battle,  but  after  a  long 
struggle  draw  away  from  each  other  with  the  victory  undecided. 
Offa  remaining  in  front  of  his  men  is  attacked  by  Brutus  (or 
Hildebrand)  and  Sueno,  the  sons  of  the  usurper,  and  slays 
them  both  (a  second  reminiscence  of  the  duel-scene).  He  then 
hurls  himself  again  upon  the  foe,  and  wins  the  victory. 

Widsiih  shows  us  that  the  Danish  account  has  kept 
closer  to  the  primitive  story  than  has  later  English  tradition. 
Widsith  confirms  the  Danish  view  that  the  quarrel  was  with 
a  foreign,  not  with  a  domestic  foe,  and  the  combat  a  duel,  not 
a  pitched  battle:  above  all,  Widsith  confirms  Saxo  in  repre- 
senting the  fight  as  taking  place  on  the  Eider — hi  Fifeldore^, 
whilst  the  account  recorded  by  the  monk  of  St  Albans  had 
localised  the  story  in  England. 

^  The  identification  of  Fifeldor  with  the  Eider  has  been  doubted,  notably  by 
Holthausen,  though  he  seems  less  doubtful  in  his  latest  edition  (third  edit. 
n,  178).  The  reasons  for  the  identification  appear  to  me  the  following.  Place 
names  ending  in  dor  are  exceedingly  rare.  When,  therefore,  two  independent 
authorities  teU  us  that  Offa  fought  at  a  place  named  Fifd-dor  or  Egi-dor^  it 
appears  unlikely  that  this  can  be  a  mere  coincidence:  it  seems  more  natural 
to  assume  that  the  names  are  corruptions  of  one  original.  But  further,  the 
connection  is  not  limited  to  the  second  element  in  the  name.  For  the  Eider 
{Egidora,  Mgiadyr)  would  in  O.E.  be  Egor-dor:  and  Egor-dor  stands  to  Fifd-dor 
precisely  as  egor-stream  (Boethius,  Metra,  xx,  118)  does  to  fifd-stream  {Metra, 
XXVI,  26),  ^'egor"  and  ^'fifeV  being  interchangexible  synonyms.  See  note  to 
Widsith f  1.  43  (p.  204).  It  is  objected  that  the  interchange  of  fifd  and  egor, 
though  frequent  in  common  nouns,  would  be  unusual  in  the  name  of  a  place. 
The  reply  is  that  the  Old  English  scop  may  not  have  regarded  it  as  a  place- 
name.  He  may  have  substituted  fif el-dor  for  the  synonymous  egor-dor,  "the 
monster  gate,"  without  realizing  that  it  was  the  name  of  a  definite  place,  just 
as  he  would  have  substituted ^/eZ-5^ream  for  egor-stream,  "the  monster  stream, 
the  sea,"  if  alliteration  demanded  the  change. 

3—2 


36  Kifig  Offa  [CH.  i 

In  Beowulf  too  we  hear  of  Offa  as  a  mighty  king,  "the  best 
of  all  mankind  betwixt  the  seas."  But,  although  his  wars  ar& 
referred  to,  we  are  given  no  details  of  them.  The  episode  in 
V  Beowulf  relates  rather  to  his  wife  Thryth,  and  his  deaUngs  with 
her.  The  passage  is  the  most  obscure  in  the  whole  poem,  but 
this  at  least  is  clear :  Thryth  had  an  evil  reputation  for  cruelty 
and  murder:  she  wedded  Offa,  and  he  put  a  stop  to  her  evil 
deeds:    she  became  to  him  a  good  and  loyal  wife. 

Now  in  the  Lives  of  the  two  Off  as  quite  a  long  space  is  devoted 

to  the  matrimonial  entanglements  of  both  kings.     Concerning 

Offa  I,  a  tale  is  told  of  how  he  succoured  a  daughter  of  the 

king  of  York,  who  had  been  turned  adrift  by  her  father ;   how 

when  his  years  were  advancing  his  subjects  pressed  him  to 

marry :   and  how  his  mind  went  back  to  the  damsel  whom  he 

had  saved,  and  he  chose  her  for  his  wife.     Whilst  the  king 

was  absent  on  his  wars,  a  messenger  whom  he  had  sent  with 

a  letter  to  report  his  victories  passed  through  York,  where  the 

\  wicked  father  of  Offa's  queen  Hved.     A  false  letter  was  sub- 

^^     jstituted,  commanding  that  the  queen  and  her  children  should  be 

mutilated  and  left  to  die  in  the  woods,  because  she  was  a  witch 

/and  had  brought  defeat  upon  the  king's  arms.     The  order  was 

1  carried  out,  but  a  hermit  rescued  and  healed  the  queen  and  her 

I  children,  and  ultimately  united  them  to  the  king. 

This  is  a  popular  folk-tale  which  is  scattered  all  over  Europe, 

and  which  has  many  times  been  clothed  in  literary  form:   in 

France  in  the  romance  of  the  Manekine,  in  English  in  the 

r^   metrical  romance  of  Emare,  and  in  Chaucer's  Man  of  Lawes 

Tale.     From  the  name  of  the  heroine  in  the  last  of  these 

J    versions,  the  tale  is  often  known  as  the  Constance-stoiy.     But 

it  is  clear  that   this  tale  is   not  identical  with  the  obscure 

story  of  the  wife  of  Offa,  which  is  indicated  in  Beowulf. 

.  When,  however,  we  turn  to  the  Life  of  Offa  II,  we  do  find 

a  very  close  parallel  to  the  Thryth  story. 

This  tells  how  in  the  days  of  Charles  the  Great  a  certain 
beautiful  but  wicked  girl,  related  to  that  king,  was  condemned 
to  death  on  account  of  her  crimes,  but,  from  respect  for  her 
birth,  was  exposed  instead  in  a  boat  without  sails  or  tackle, 
and  driven  ashore  on  the  coast  of  King  Offa's  land.     Drida,  as 


PLATE  IV 


DRIDA  (THRYTH)  ARRIVES  IN  THE  LAND  OF  KING  OFFA, 
*'IN  NAUICULA  ARMAMENTIS  CARENTE" 


From  MS  Cotton  Nero  D.  I,  fol  U  a. 


^ 


SECT,  vii]  King  Offa  37 

she  said  her  name  was,  deceived  the  king  by  a  tale  of  injured 
innocence,  and  he  committed  her  to  the  safe  keeping  of  his 
mother,  the  Countess  MarcelHna.  Later,  Offa  fell  in  love  with 
Drida,  and  married  her,  after  which  she  became  known  as 
Quendrida.  But  Drida  continued  her  evil  courses  and  com- 
passed the  death  of  St  ^Ethelbert,  the  vassal  king  of  East 
Anglia.  In  the  end  she  was  murdered  by  robbers — a  just' 
punishment  for  her  crimes — and  her  widowed  husband  built  the 
Abbey  of  St  Albans  as  a  thank-offering  for  her  death. 

The  parallel  here  is  too  striking  to  be  denied :  for  Drida  is 
but  another  way  of  spelHng  Thryth,  and  the  character  of  the 
murderous  queen  is  the  same  in  both  stories.  There  are, 
however,  striking  differences :  for  whereas  Thryth  ceases  from  " 
her  evil  deeds  and  becomes  a  model  wife  to  Offa,  Drida  con- 
tinues on  her  course  of  crime,  and  is  cut  off  by  violence  in  the 
midst  of  her  evil  career.  How  are  we  to  account  for  the 
parallels  and  for  the  discrepancies? 

As  a  matter  of  historical  fact,  the  wife  of  Offa,  king  of 
Mercia,  was  named  (not  indeed  Cwoenthryth,  which  is  the  form 
which  should  correspond  to  Quendrida,  but)  Cynethryth.  The 
most  obvious  and  facile  way  of  accounting  for  the  Hkeness 
between  what  we  are  told  in  Beowulf  of  the  queen  of  Offa  I, 
and  what  we  are  elsewhere  told  of  the  queen  of  Offa  II,  is  to 
suppose  that  Thryth  in  Beowulf  is  a  mere  fiction  evolved  from  /  v 
the  historic  Cynethryth,  wife  of  Offa  II,  and  by  poetic  licence ' 
represented  as  the  wife  of  his  ancestor,  Offa  I.  It  was  in  this 
way  she  was  explained  by  Professor  Earle: 

The  name  [Thrytho]  was  suggested  by  that  of  Cynethryth,  Offa's 
queen.... The  vindictive  character  here  given  to  Thrytho  is  a  poetic 
and  veiled  admonition  addressed  to  Cynethryth^. 

Unfortunately  this,  like  many  another  facile  theory,  is  open 
to  fatal  objections.  In  the  first  place  the  poem  of  Beowulf  can,  nX 
with  fair  certainty,  be  attributed  to  a  date  earlier  than  that  at 
which  the  historic  Offa  and  his  spouse  lived.  Of  course,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  Offa  episode  in  Beowulf  is  an  interpolation 
of  a  later  date.  But  this  needs  proof. 
I      There   are   metrical   and   above    all   syntactical   grounds 

*  The  Deeds  of  Beovmlf,  lxxxv. 


38  King  Offa  [CH.  i 

which  have  led  most  scholars  to  place  Beowulf  Yeiy  early  i.  If  we 
wish  to  regard  the  Offa-Thryth-ei^isode  as  a  later  interpolation, 
we  ought  first  to  prove  that  it  is  later  in  its  syntax  and  metre. 
We  have  no  right  to  assume  that  the  episode  is  an  interpolation 
merely  because  such  an  assumption  may  suit  our  theory  of 
the  development  of  Beowulf.  So  until  reasons  are  forthcoming 
for  supposing  the  episode  of  Thryth  to  be  later  than  the  rest 
.  of  the  poem,  we  can  but  note  that  what  we  know  of  the  date 

J  of  Beowulf  forbids  us  to  accept  Earle's  theory  that  Thryth  is 
a  reflection  of,  or  upon,  the  historic  Cynethryth. 

But  there  are  diiB&culties  in  the  way  of  Earle's  theory  even 
more  serious  than  the  chronological  one.  We  know  nothing 
very  definitely  about  the  wife  of  Ofia  II,  except  her  name,  but 

Y  from  a  reference  in  a  letter  of  Alcuin  it  seems  clear  that  she 
was  a  woman  of  marked  piety :  it  is  not  likely  that  she  could 
have  been  guilty  of  deUberate  murder  of  the  kind  represented 
in  the  Life  of  Offa  II.  The  St  Albans  Life  depends,  so  far  as 
we  know,  upon  the  traditions  which  were  current  four  centuries 
after  her  death.  There  may  be,  there  doubtless  are,  some 
historic  facts  concerning  Offa  preserved  in  it :  but  we  have  no 
reason  to  think  that  the  bad  character  of  Offa's  queen  is  one 
of  them.  Indeed,  on  purely  intrinsic  grounds  we  might  well 
suppose  the  reverse.  As  a  matter  of  history  we  know  that 
Offa  did  put  to  death  ^Ethelberht,  the  vassal  king  of  East 
Anglia.  When  in  the  Life  we  find  Offa  completely  exonerated, 
and  the  deed  represented  as  an  assassination  brought  about  by 
the  mahce  and  cruelty  of  his  queen,  it  seems  intrinsically  likely 
that  we  are  deahng  with  an  attempt  of  the  monks  to  clear  their 
founder  by  transferring  his  cruel  deeds  to  the  account  of  his  wife. 
So  far,  then,  from  Thryth  being  a  reflection  of  an  historic 
cruel  queen  Cynethryth,  it  is  more  probable  that  the  influence 
has  been  in  the  reverse  direction;  that  the  pious  Cynethryth 
has  been  represented  as  a  monster  of  cruelty  because  she  has 
not  unnaturally  been  confused  with  a  mythical  Thryth,  the 
wife  of  Offa  I. 

To  this  it  may  be  objected  that  we  have  no  right  to  assume 
remarkable  coincidences,  and  that  such  a  coincidence  is  in- 

^  See  below,  pp.  105-12,  and  Appendix  (D)  below.  ^U 


I 


SECT,  vii]  King  Offa  39 

volved  by  the  assumption  that  there  was  a  story  of  a  mythical 
Thryth,  the  wife  of  Offa  I,  and  that  this  existed  prior  to,  and 
independently  of,  the  actual  wedding  of  Offa  II  to  a  C5me- 
thryth.  But  the  exceeding  frequency  of  the  element  thryth  in 
the  names  of  women  robs  this  objection  of  all  its  point.  Such 
a  coincidence,  far  from  being  remarkable,  would  be  the  most 
natural  in  the  world.  If  we  look  at  the  Mercian  pedigree  we 
find  that  almost  half  the  ladies  connected  with  it  have  that 
element  thryth  in  their  nancies.  The  founder  of  the  house, 
Wihtlaeg,  according  to  Saxo  Grammaticus^,  wedded  Hermu- 
thruda,  the  old  English  form  of  which  would  be  Eormenthryth. 

It  is  to  this  lady  Hermuthruda  that  we  must  now  devote 
our  attention.  She  belongs  to  a  type  which  is  common  in 
folk- tale  down  to  the  time  of  Hans  Andersen — the  cruel  princess 
who  puts  her  lovers  to  death  unless  they  can  vanquish  her  in 
some  way,  worsting  her  in  a  contest  of  wits,  such  as  the  guessing 
of  riddles,  or  a  contest  of  strength,  such  as  running,  jumping, 
or  wrestling.  The  stock  example  of  this  perilous  maiden  is, 
of  course,  for  classical  story  Atalanta,  for  Germanic  tradition 
the  Brunhilt  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  who  demands  from  her 
wooer  that  he  shall  surpass  her  in  all  three  feats ;  if  he  fails  in 
one,  his  head  is  forfeit^. 

Of  this  type  was  Hermuthruda:  "in  the  cruelty  of  her 
arrogance  she  had  always  loathed  her  wooers,  ^  and  inflicted 
upon  them  the  supreme  punishment,  so  that  out  of  many 
there  was  not  one  but  paid  for  his  boldness  with  his  head^," 
words  which  remind  us  strongly  of  what  our  poet  says  of  Thryth. 

Hamlet  (Amlethus)  is  sent  by  the  king  of  Britain  to  woo 
this  maiden  for  him:  but  she  causes  Hamlet's  shield  and  the 
commission  to  be  stolen  while  he  sleeps:  she  learns  from  the 
shield  that  the  messenger  is  the  famous  and  valiant  Hamlet, 
and  alters  the  commission  so  that  her  hand  is  requested,  not 
for  the  king  of  Britain,  but  for  Hamlet  himself.  With  this 
request  she  complies,  and  the  wedding  is  celebrated.  But  when 
Wihtlaeg  (Vigletus)  conquers  and  slays  Hamlet,  she  weds  the 
conqueror,  thus  becoming  ancestress  of  Offa. 

^  Wihtlaeg  appears  in  Saxo  as  Vigletus  (Book  iv,  ed.  Holder,  p.  106). 
2  Nibelungen  Lied,  ed.  Piper,  328.  »  Book  iv  (ed.  Holder,  p.  102). 


40  King  Offa  [CH.  i  sect,  vii 

It  may  well  be  that  there  is  some  connection  between  the 
Thryth  of  Beowulf  and  the  Hermuthruda  who  in  Saxo  weds 
Offa's  ancestor — that  they  are  both  types  of  the  wild  maiden 
who  becomes  a  submissive  though  not  always  happy  wife.  If 
so,  the  continued  wickedness  of  Drida  in  the  Life  of  Offa  II 
would  be  an  alteration  of  the  original  story,  made  in  order  to 
exonerate  OfEa  II  from  the  deeds  of  murder  which,  as  a  matter 
of  history,  did  characterize  his  reign. 


^ 


w' 


CHAPTER  II__ 

THE   NON-HISTORICAL   ELEMENTS 

Section  I.    The  Geendel  Fight. 

When  we  come  to  the  story  of  Beowulf's  struggle  with 
Grendel,  with  Grendel's  mother,  and  with  the  dragon,  we  are 
faced  by  difficulties  much  greater  than  those  which  meet  us 
when  considering  that  background  of  Danish  or  Geatic  history 
in  which  these  stories  are  framed. 

J  In  the  first  place,  it  is  both  surprising  and  confusing  that, 
in  the  prologue,  before  the  main  story  begins,  another  Beowulf 
is  introduced,  the  son  of  Scyld  Scefing.  Much  emphasis  is 
laid  upon  the  upbringing  and  youthful  fame  of  this  prince,  and 
the  glory  of  his  father.  Any  reader  would  suppose  that  the 
poet  is  going  on  to  tell  of  his  adventures,  when  suddenly  the 
story  is  switched  off,  and,  after  brief  mention  of  this  Beowulf's 
son,  Healfdene,  we  come  to  Hrothgar,  the  building  of  Heorot, 
Grendel's  attack,  and  the  voyage  of  Beowulf  the  Geat  to  the 
rescue.  / 

Now  "  Beowulf"  is  an  exceedingly  rare  name.  The  presence 
of  the  earlier  Beowulf,  Scyld's  son,  seems  then  to  demand 
explanation,  and  many  critics,  working  on  quite  different  lines, 
have  arrived  independently  at  the  conclusion  that  either  the 
story  of  Grendel  and  his  mother,  or  the  story  of  the  dragon, 
or  both  stories,  were  originally  told  of  the  son  of  Scyld,  and 
only  afterwards  transferred  to  the  Geatic  hero.  This  has 
indeed  been  generally  accepted,  almost  from  the  beginning  of 


42  The  Grendel  Fight  [CH.  ii 

Beowulf  criticism^.    Yet,  though  possible  enough,  it  does  not 
1  admit  of  any  demonstration. 

Now  Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld,  clearly  corresponds  to  a  Beow 
or  Beaw  in  the  West  Saxon  genealogy.  In  this  genealogy 
Beow  is  always  connected  with  Scyld  and  Scef,  and  in  some 

/  versions  the  relations  are  identical  with  those  given  in  Beowulf  i 
Beow,  son  of  Scyld,  son  of  Scef,  in  the  genealogies^,  corre- 
sponding to  Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld  Scefing,  in  our  poem.  Hence 
arose  the  further  speculation  of  many  scholars  that  the  hero 
who  slays  the  monsters  was  originally  called,  not  Beowulf,  but 
Beow,  and  that  he  was  identical  with  the  hero  in  the  West 
Saxon  pedigree ;  in  other  words,  that  the  original  story  was  of 
a  hero  Beow  (son  of  Scyld)  who  slew  a  monster  and^a  dragon : 
^nd  that  this  adventure  was  only  subsequently  transferred  to 
Beowulf,  prince  of  the  Geatas. 

This  is  a  theory  based  upon  a  theory,  and  some  confirmation 
may  reasonably  be  asked,  before  it  is  entertained.  As  to  the 
dragon-slaying,  the  confirmatory  evidence  is  open  to  extreme 
doubt.  It  is  dealt  with  in  Section  vii  (Beowulf-Frotho),  below. 
As  to  Grendel,  one  such  piece  of  confirmation  there  is.  The 
conquering  Angles  and  Saxons  seem  to  have  given  the  names- 
of  their  heroes  to  the  lands  they  won  in  England :  some  such 
names — 'Wade's  causeway,'  'Weyland's  smithy' — have  sur- 
vived to  modern  times.  The  evidence  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
charters  shows  that  very  many  which  have  now  been  lost 
^  existed  in  England  prior  to  the  Conquest.     Now  in  a  Wiltshire 

<  charter  of  the  year  931,  we  have  Beowan  hammes  hecgan  men- 
tioned not  far  from  a  Grendles  mere.  This  has  been  claimed  as 
evidence  that  the  story  of  Grendel,  with  Beow  as  his  adversary, 
was  locaUzed  in  Wiltshire  in  the  reign  of  Athelstan,  and  perhaps 
had  been  locaHzed  there  since  the  settlement  four  centuries 
previously.     Until   recently   this   was   accepted   as   definitely 

^  Kemble,  Beovmlf,  Postscript  ix;  followed  by  MuUenhojfif,  etc.  So,  lately, 
Chadwick  {H.A.  126):  cf.  also  Sievers  ('Beowulf  und  Saxo'  in  the  Berichte 
d.  k.  sacks.  Gesell.  d.  Wissenschaften,  1895,  pp.  180-88);  Bradley  in  Ericyc. 
Brit,  m,  761;  Boer,  Beovmlf,  135.  See  also  Olrik,  Danmarks  Heltedigtning, 
I,  246.    For  further  discussion  see  below,  Appendix  (A). 

2  Beo — Scyld — Scef  in  Ethelwerd :  Beowius — Scddius — Sceaf  in  William  of 
Malmesbury.  But  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  five  generations  intervene 
between  Sceaf  and  his  descendant  Scyldwa,  father  of  Beaw. 


SECT,  i]  The  Grendel  Fight  43 

y  proving  that  the  Beowulf-Grendel  story  was  derived  from  an 
ancient  Beow-myth.  Yet  one  such  instance  of  name-associa- 
tion is  not  conclusive.  We  cannot  leave  out  of  consideration 
the  possibiUty  of  its  being  a  mere  chance  coincidence,  especially 
considering  how  large  is  the  number  of  place  names  recorded 
in  Old  EngHsh  charters.  Of  late,  people  have  become  more 
sceptical  in  drawing  inferences  from  proper  names,  and  quite 
recently  there  has  been  a  tendency  entirely  to  overlook  the 
evidence  of  the  charter,  by  way  of  making  compensation  for 
having  hitherto  overrated  it. 

All  that  can  be  said  with  certainty  is  that  it  is  remarkable 

,  that  a  place  named  after  Beowa  should  be  found  in  the  im- 
mediate proximity  of  a  "Grendel's  lake,"  and  that  this  fact 
supports  the  possibihty,  though  it  assuredly  does  not  prove, 
that  in  the  oldest  versions  of  the  tale  the  monster  queller  was 

''^  named  Beow,  not  Beowulf.  But  it  is  only  a  possibility :  it  is 
not  grounded  upon  any  real  evidence. 

These  crucial  references  occur  in  a  charter  given  by  Athelstan  at 
Luton,  concerning  a  grant  of  land  at  Ham  in  Wiltshire  to  his  thane 
Wulfgar.     [See  Birch,  Cartularium  Saxonicum,  1887,  vol.  n,  p.  363.] 

...Ego  iESelstanus,  rex  Anglorum...quandam  telluris  particulam 
meo  fideb*  ministro  Wulfgaro...in  loco  quern  solicolae  CBt  Hamme 
vocitant  tribuo...Praedicta  siquidem  tellus  his  terminis  circumcincta 
clarescit.... 

tSonne  norS  ofer  diine  on  meos-hlinc  westeweardne ;  tJonne  adune  on 
tSa  yfre  on  beowan  hammes  hecgan,  on  bremeles  sceagan  easteweardne ; 
tJonne  on  Sa  blacan  grsef an ;  Sonne  nor©  be  Sem  ondheaf dan  to  Ssere 
scortan  die  biitan  anan  aecre ;  tSonne  to  fugelmere  to  San  wege ;  ondlong 
weges  to  ottes  forda;  Sonon  to  wudumere;  Sonne  to  Ssere  riiwan 
hecgan ;  Saet  on  langan  hangran ;  Sonne  on  grendles  mere ;  Sonon  on 
dyrnan  geat.... 

Ambiguous  as  this  evidence  is,  I  do  not  think  it  can  be  dismissed 
as  it  is  by  Lawrence  {Puh.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  252)  and 
Panzer  {Beowulf,  397),  who  both  say  "How  do  we  know  that  it  is 
not  the  merest  chance  ?  "  It  may  of  course  be  chance :  but  this  does 
not  justify  us  in  basing  an  argument  upon  the  assumption  that  it 
is  the  merest  chance.  Lawrence  continues:  "Suppose  one  were  to 
set  up  a  theory  that  there  was  a  saga-relation  between  Scyld  and 
Bikki,  and  offered  as  proof  the  passage  in  the  charter  for  the  year 
917  in  which  there  are  mentioned,  as  in  the  same  district,  scyldes 
treow  and  bican  sell.... How  much  weight  would  this  carry?" 

The  answer  surely  is  that  the  occurrence  of  the  two  names  together 
in  the  charter  would,  by  itself,  give  no  basis  whatever  for  starting 
such  a  theory :  but  if,  on  other  grounds,  the  theory  were  likely,  then 
the  occurrence  of  the  two  names  together  would  certainly  have  some 
corroborative  value.  Exactly  how  much,  it  is  impossible  to  say, 
because  we  cannot  estimate  the  element  of  chance,  and  we  cannot 


44  The  Grendel  Fight  [CH.  ii 

be  certain  that  the  grendel  and  the  beowa  mentioned  are  identical 
with  our  Grendel  and  our  Beowulf. 

Miller  has  argued  [Academy,  May  1894,  p.  396]  that  grendles  is 
not  a  proper  name  here,  but  a  common  noun  signifying  "drain,"  and 
that  grendles  mere  therefore  means  "cesspool." 

Now  "grindle"  is  found  in  modern  dialect  and  even  in  Middle 
English^  in  the  sense  of  "a  narrow  ditch"  or  "gutter,"  but  I  doubt 
if  it  can  be  proved  to  be  an  Old  EngUsh  word.  Evidence  would 
rather  point  to  its  being  an  East  Anglian  corruption  of  the  much  more 
widely  spread  drindle,  or  dringle,  used  both  as  a  verb  "to  go  slowly, 
to  trickle,"  and  as  "a  snmll  trickling  stream."  And  even  if  an  O.E. 
grendel  as  a  common  noun  meaning  "gutter"  were  authenticated,  it 
seems  unlikely  to  me  that  places  were  named  "the  fen,"  "the  mere," 
"the  pit,"  "the  brook" — "of  the  gutter."  There  is  no  ground  what- 
ever for  supposing  the  existence  of  an  O.E.  gfrerwieZ=  "sewer,"  or 
anything  which  would  lead  us  to  suppose  grendles  mere  or  gryndeles 
sylle  to  mean  "cesspool^."  Surely  it  is  probable,  knowing  what 
we  do  of  the  way  in  which  the  English  settlers  gave  epic  names  to  the 
localities  around  their  settlements,  that  these  places  were  named 
after  Grendel  because  they  seemed  the  sort  of  place  where  his  story 
might  be  localized — like  " Weyland's  smithy"  or  "  Wade's  causeway" : 
and  that  the  meaning  is  "Grendel's  fen,"  "mere,"  "pit"  or  "brook." 

Again,  both  Panzer  and  Lawrence  suggest  that  the  Beowa  who 
gave  his  name  to  the  ham  may  have  been,  not  the  hero,  but  "an 
ordinary  mortal  called  after  him  "..."some  individual  who  lived  in 
this  locah'ty."  But,  among  the  numerous  English  proper  names 
recorded,  can  any  instance  be  found  of  any  individual  named  Beowa  ? 

1  "Item  there  is  vii  acres  lend  lying  by  the  high  weye  toward  the  grendyU" : 
Bury  Wills,  ed.  S.  Tymms  (Camden  See.  xlix,  1850,  p.  31). 

2  I  shoiid  hardly  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  revive  this  old  "cesspool" 
theory,  were  it  not  for  the  statement  of  Dr  Lawrence  that  "Miller's  argument 
that  the  word  grendel  here  is  not  a  proper  name  at  all,  that  it  means  'drain,' 
has  never,  to  my  knowledge,  been  refuted."  {Pvh.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer. 
XXIV,  253.) 

Miller  was  a  scholar  whose  memory  should  be  reverenced,  but  the  letter 
to  the  Academy  was  evidently  written  in  haste.  The  only  evidence  which 
Miller  produced  for  grendel  standing  alone  as  a  common  noun  in  Old  English 
was  a  charter  of  963  (Birch,  1103 :  vol.  m,  p.  336) :  J?anon  for&  eft  on  grendel: 
Jyanon  on  clyst:  grendel  here,  he  asserted,  meant  "drain":  and  consequently 
gryndeles  sylle  and  grendles  mere  in  the  other  charters  must  mean  "cesspool." 
But  the  locaUty  of  this  charter  of  963  is  known  (Clyst  St  Mary,  a  few  miles 
east  of  Exeter),  and  the  two  words  exist  there  as  names  of  streams  to  this  day 
— "thence  again  along  the  Greendale  brook,  thence  along  the  river  Clyst." 
The  Grindle  or  Greendale  brook  is  no  sewer,  but  a  stream  some  half  dozen 
miles  in  length  which  "winds  tranquilly  through  a  rich  tract  of  alluvial  soil" 
{Journal  of  the  Archaeol.  Assoc,  xxxix,  273),  past  three  villages  which  bear 
the  same  name,  Greendale,  Greendale  Barton  and  Higher  Greendale,  under 
Greendale  Bridge  and  over  the  ford  by  Greendale  Lane,  to  its  junction  with  the 
Clyst.  Why  the  existence  of  this  charming  stream  should  be  held  to  justify 
the  interpretation  of  Grendel  or  Gryndel  as  "drain"  and  grendles  mere  as  "cess- 
pool" has  always  puzzled  me.  Were  a  new  Drayton  to  arise  he  might,  in  a 
new  Polyolbion,  introduce  the  nymph  complaining  of  her  hard  lot  at  the  hands 
of  scholars  in  the  Hesperides.  I  hope,  when  he  next  visits  England,  to  conduct 
Dr  Lawrence  to  make  his  apologies  to  the  lady.  Meantime  a  glance  at  the 
"six  inch"  ordnance  map  of  Devon  suffices  to  refute  Miller's  curious  hypo- 
thesis. 


SECT,  i]  The  Grendel  Fight  45 

And  was  it  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  Old  English  nomenclature 
to  give  to  mortals  the  names  of  these  heroes  of  the  genealogies^? 

Kecent  scepticism  as  to  the  "Beow-myth"  has  been  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  speculation  as  to  Beow  had  been  carried 
too  far.  For  example,  because  Beow  appeared  in  the  West 
Saxon  genealogy,  it  had  been  assumed  that  the  Beow-myth 
belonged  essentially  to  the  Angles  and  Saxons.  Yet  Beow 
would  seem  to  have  been  also  known  among  Scandinavians. 
For  in  somewhat  later  days  Scandinavian  genealogists,  when 
they  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  pedigrees,, 
noted  that  Beow  had  a  Scandinavian  counterpart  in  a  hero 
whom  they  called  Bjar^.  That  something  was  known  in  the 
north  of  this  Bjar  is  proved  by  the  Kdlfsvisa,  that  same  cata- 
logue of  famous  heroes  and  their  horses  which  we  have  already 
found  giving  us  the  counterparts  of  Onela  and  Eadgils.  Yet 
this  dry  reference  serves  to  show  that  Bjar  must  once  have 
been  sufficiently  famous  to  have  a  horse  specially  his  own^. 
Whether  the  fourteenth  century  Scandinavian  who  made  Bjar 
the  Northern  equivalent  of  Beow  was  merely  guessing,  -^e  un- 
fortunately cannot  tell.  Most  probably  he  was,  for  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  the  hero  corresponding  to  Beow  was  named, 
not  Bjar,  but  Byggvir^:  a  correspondence  intelhgible  to  modern 
philologists  as  in  agreement  with  phonetic  law,  but  naturally 
not  obvious  to  an  Icelandic  genealogist.  But  however  this  \ 
may  be,  the  assumption  that  Beow  was  peculiarly  the  hero  of  ' 
Angles  and  Saxons  seems  hardly  justified. 

^  It  is  often  asserted  that  the  same  Beowa  appears  as  a  witness  to  a  charter 
(Miillenhoff,  Beovulf,  p.  8:  Haak,  Zeugnisse  zur  altenglischen  Heldensage,  53). 
But  this  rests  upon  a  misprint  of  Kemble  {CD. 8.  v,  44).  The  name  is  really 
Beoha  (Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  i,  212). 

2  Beaf  er  ver  hollum  Biar,  in  the  descent  of  Harold  Fairhair  from  Adam, 
in  Flateyarbdk,  ed.  Vigfiisson  and  Unger,  Christiania,  1859,  i,  27.  [The  genealogy 
contains  many  names  obviously  taken  from  a  MS  of  the  O.E.  royal  pedigrees, 
not  from  oral  tradition,  as  is  shown  by  the  mis  writings,  e.g.,  Beaf  for  Beaw, 
owing  to  mistaking  the  O.E.  w  for/.]  "This  is  no  proof,"  Dr  Lawrence  urges, 
"of  popular  acquaintance  with  Bjar  as  a  Scandinavian  figure."  (Pw6.  Mod. 
Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  246.)  But  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  presence 
of  his  name  among  a  mnemonic  Hst  of  some  of  the  most  famous  warriors  and 
their  horses — mention  along  with  heroes  like  Sigurd,  Gimnar,  Atli,  Athils  and 
Ali,  unless  Bjar  was  a  well-known  figure? 

*  en  Bjdrr  [rei(f]  Kerti.  Kortr,  "short"  (Germ.  Kurz),  if  indeed  we  are  so  to 
interpret  it,  is  hardly  an  Icelandic  word,  and  seems  strange  as  the  name  of  a  horse, 
Egilsson  {Lex.  Poet.  1860)  suggests  kertr,  "  erect,"  "  with  head  high  "  (cf.  Kahle 
in  LF.  XIV,  164).  *  See  Appendix  (A)  below. 


46  The  Grendel  Fight  [CH.  ii 

/,V  Again,  since  Beow  is  an  ancestor  of  Woden,  it  was  furtlier 
assumed  that  he  was  an  ancient  god,  and  that  in  the  story  of 
his  adventures  we  had  to  deal  with  a  nature-myth  of  a  divine 
deUverer  who  saved  the  people  from  Grendel  and  his  mother, 
the  personified  powers  of  the  stormy  sea.  It  is  with  the  name 
of  Miillenhoff,  its  most  enthusiastic  and  ablest  advocate,  that 
this  "mythological  theory"  is  particularly  associated.  That 
Grendel  is  fictitious  no  one,  of  course,  would  deny.  But 
MuUenhofi  and  his  school,  in  applying  the  term  "mythical" 
to  those  portions  of  the  Beowulf  story  for  which  no  historical 
explanation  could  be  found,  meant  that  they  enshrined  nature- 
myths.  They  thought  that  those  elements  in  heroic  poetry 
which  could  not  be  referred  back  to  actual  fact  must  be  traced 
to  ancient  stories  in  which  were  recorded  the  nation's  behef 
about  the  sun  and  the  gods:    about  storms  and  seasons. 

The  different  mythological  explanations  of  Beowulf-Beowa 
and  Grendel  have  depended  mainly  upon  hazardous  etymo- 
logical explanations  of  the  hero's  name.  The  most  popular  is 
■  Miillenhoff's  interpretation.  Beaw  is  the  divine  helper  of  man 
in  his  struggle  with  the  elements.  Grendel  represents  the 
stormy  North  Sea  of  early  spring,  flooding  and  destroying  the 
habitations  of  men,  till  the  god  rescues  them :  Grendel's  mother 
represents  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  But  in  the  autumn  the 
power  of  the  god  wanes :  the  dragon  personifies  the  coming  of 
the  wild  weather:  the  god  sinks  in  his  final  struggle  to  safe- 
guard the  treasures  of  the  earth  for  his  people^.  Others, 
remembering  that  Grendel  dwells  in  the  fen,  see  in  him  rather 
a  demon  of  the  sea-marsh  than  of  the  sea  itself:  he  is  the 
pestilential  swamp^,  and  the  hero  a  wind  which  drives  him  away^. 
Or,  whilst  Grendel  still  represents  the  storms,  his  antagonist 
is  a  "  Blitzheros*."     Others,  whilst  hardly  ranking  Beowulf  as 

^  Mullenhoff  derived  Beaw  from  the  root  6M,  "to  be,  dwell,  grow" :  Beaw 
therefore  represented  settled  dwelling  and  culture.  Miillenhoff's  mythological 
explanation  {Z.f.d.A.  vn,  419,  etc.,  Beovulf.  1,  etc.)  has  been  largely  followed 
by  subsequent  scholars,  e.g.,  ten  Brink  {Pauls  Grdr.  n,  533:  Beowulf,  184), 
Symons  {Pauls  Ordr.  (2),  m,  645-6)  and,  in  general  outline,  E.  H.  Meyer  {Mythol, 
der  Germanen,  1903,  242).  2  Uhland  in  Germania,  11,  349. 

3  Laistner  {Nebelsagen,  88,  etc.,  264,  etc.),  Kogel  {Z.f.d.A.  xxxvn,  274: 
Geschichte  d.  deut.  Litt.  1,  1,  109),  and  Golther  {Handhuch  der  germ.  Mythologie, 
1895,  173)  see  in  Grendel  the  demon  of  combined  storm  and  pestilence. 

«  E.  H.  Meyer  {Germ.  Mythol.  1891,  299). 


SECT,  i]  The  Grendel  Fight 


47 


a  god,  still  see  an  allegory  in  his  adventures,  and  Grendel  mast 
be  a  personification  either  of  an  inundation^,  or  of  the  terror 
of  the  long  winter  nights^,  or  possibly  of  grinding  at  the  mill, 
the  work  of  the  enslaved  foe^. 

Such  explanations  were  till  recently  universally  current: 
the  instances  given  above  might  be  increased  considerably. 

Sufficient  allowance  was  not  made  for  the  influence  upon 
heroic  poetry  of  the  simple  popular  folk-tale,  a  tale  of  wonder  \ 
with  no  mythological  or  allegorical  meaning.  Now,  of  late  ' 
years,  there  has  been  a  tendency  not  only  to  recognize  but 
even  to  exaggerate  this  influence:  to  regard  the  hero  of  the 
folk- tale  as  the  original  and  essential  element  in  heroic  poetry*. 
Though  this  is  assuredly  to  go  too  far,  it  is  but  reasonable  to 
recognize  the  fairy  tale  element  in  the  O.E.  epic. 

We  have  in  Beowulf  a  story  of  giant-kilhng  and  dragon- 
slaying.  Why  should  we  construct  a  legend  of  the  gods  or 
a  nature-myth  to  account  for  these  tales  ?  Why  must  Grendel 
or  his  mother  represent  the  tempest,  or  the  malaria,  or  the 
drear  long  winter  nights  ?  We  know  that  tales  of  giant-killers 
and  dragon-slayers  have  been  current  among  the  people  of 
Europe  for  thousands  of  years.  Is  it  not  far  more  easy  to 
regard  the  story  of  the  fight  between  Beowulf  and  Grendel 
merely  as  a  fairy  tale,  glorified  into  an  epic^? 

Those  students  who  of  late  years  have  tried  thus  to  elucidate 
the  story  of  Beowulf  and  Grendel,  by  comparison  with  folk- 
tales, have  one  great  advantage  over  MiillenhofE  and  the 
"mythological"  school.  The  weak  point  of  Miillenhofi's  view 
was  that  the  nature-myth  of  Beow,  which  was  called  in  to 
explain  the  origin  of  the  Beowulf  story  as  we  have  it,  was 
itself  only  an  assumption,  a  conjectural  reconstruction.  But 
the  various  popular  tales  in  which  scholars  have  more  recently 
tried  to  find  parallels  to  Beowulf  have  this  great  merit,  that 

^  Mogk  {Pauls  Ordr.  (2),  in,  302)  regards  Grendel  as  a  "water-spirit." 

2  Boer  {Ark.  f.  nord.  Filol.  xix,  19). 

'  This  suggestion  is  made  (very  tentatively)  by  Brandl,  in  Paula  Qrdr.  (2), 
Ti,  i,  992. 

*  This  view  has  been  enunciated  by  Wundt  in  his  Volkerpsychologie,  n,  i, 
326,  etc. J  382.  For  a  discussion  see  A.  Heusler  in  Berliner  Sitzungsberichte, 
xxxvn,  1909,  pp.  939-945. 

^  Cf.  Lawrence  in  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  266,  etc.,  and  Panzer's 
"Beowulf"  throughout. 


48  The  Grendel  Fight  [CH.  ii 

they  do  indubitably   exist.     And  as  to   the  first  step — the 
A  parallel   between   Beowulf  and   the   Grettis   saga — there   can, 
fortunately,  be  but  little  hesitation. 


Section  II.    The  Scandinavian  Parallels — 
Grettir  and  Orm. 

The  Grettis  saga  tells  the  adventures  of  the  most  famous  of 
all  Icelandic  outlaws,  Grettir  the  strong.  As  to  the  historic 
existence  of  Grettir  there  is  no  doubt:  we  can  even  date  the 
main  events  of  his  life,  in  spite  of  chronological  inconsistencies, 
with  some  precision.  But  between  the  year  1031,  when  he  was 
killed,  and  the  latter  half  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  his 
saga  took  form,  many  fictitious  episodes,  derived  from  folk-lore, 
had  woven  themselves  around  his  name.  Of  these,  one  bears 
a  great,  if  possibly  accidental,  likeness  to  the  Grendel  story: 
the  second  is  emphatically  and  unmistakably  the  same  story 
as  that  of  Grendel  and  his  mother.  In  the  first,  Grettir  stops 
at  a  farm  house  which  is  haunted  by  Glam,  a  ghost  of  monstrous 
stature.  Grettir  awaits  his  attack  alone,  but,  like  Beowulf, 
lying  down.  Glam's  entry  and  onset  resemble  those  of  Grendel : 
when  Grettir  closes  with  him  he  tries  to  get  out.  They  wrestle 
the  length  of  the  hall,  and  break  all  before  them.  Grettir 
supports  himself  against  anything  that  will  give  him  foothold, 
but  for  all  his  efforts  he  is  dragged  as  far  as  the  door.  There  he 
suddenly  changes  his  tactics,  and  throws  his  whole  weight 
upon  his  adversary.  The  monster  falls,  undermost,  so  that 
Grettir  is  able  to  draw,  and  strike  off  his  head ;  though  not  till 
Glam  has  laid  upon  Grettir  a  curse  which  drags  him  to  his- 
doom. 

The  second  story — the  adventure  of  Grettir  at  Sandhaugar 
(Sandheaps) — ^begins  in  much  the  same  way  as  that  of  Grettir 
and  Glam.  Grettir  is  staying  in  a  haunted  farm,  from  which 
first  the  farmer  himself  and  then  a  house-carl  have,  on  two  suc- 
cessive Yuletides,  been  spirited  away.  As  before,  a  light  burns 
in  the  room  all  night,  and  Grettir  awaits  the  attack  alone, 
lying  down,  without  having  put  off  his  clothes.  As  before,. 
Grettir  and  his  assailant  wrestle  down  the  room,  breaking  all 


SECT,  ii]  The  Scandinavian  Parallels — Grettir  and  Orm  49 

in  their  way.     But  this  time  Grettir  is  pulled  out  of  the  hall, 
and  dragged  to  the  brink  of  the  neighbouring  gorge.    Here,  by 
a  final  effort,  he  wrenches  a  hand  free,  draws,  and  hews  off  the  ,, 
arm  of  the  ogress,  who  falls  into  the  torrent  below. 

Grettir  conjectures  that  the  two  missing  men  must  have 
been  pulled  by  the  ogress  into  the  gulf.  This,  after  his  ex- 
perience, is  surely  a  reasonable  inference :  but  Stein,  the  priest, 
is  unconvinced.  So  they  go  together  to  the  river,  and  find 
the  side  of  the  ravine  a  sheer  precipice:  it  is  ten  fathom 
down  to  the  water  below  the  fall.  Grettir  lets  down  a  rope: 
the  priest  is  to  watch  it.  Then  Grettir  dives  in:  "the  priest 
saw  the  soles  of  his  feet,  and  then  knew  no  more  what  had 
become  of  him."  Grettir  swims  under  the  fall  and  gets  into  \. 
the  cave,  where  he  sees  a  giant  sitting  by  a  fire :  the  giant  '' 
aims  a  blow  at  him  with  a  weapon  with  a  wooden  handle 
("  such  a  weapon  men  then  called  a  hefti-sax  ").  Grettir  hews  it 
asunder.  The  giant  then  grasps  at  another  sword  hanging  on 
the  wall  of  the  cave,  but  before  he  can  use  it  Grettir  wounds 
him.  Stein,  the  priest,  seeing  the  water  stained  with  blood 
from  this  wound,  concludes  that  Grettir  is  dead,  and  departs  )* 
home,  lamenting  the  loss  of  such  a  man.  "But  Grettir  let 
little  space  come  between  his  blows  till  the  giant  lay  dead." 
Grettir  finds  the  bones  of  the  two  dead  men  in  the  cave,  and  X 
bears  them  away  with  him  to  convince  the  priest:  but  when 
he  reaches  the  rope  and  shakes  it,  there  is  no  reply,  and  he 
has  to  climb  up,  unaided.  He  leaves  the  bones  in  the  church 
porch,  for  the  confusion  of  the  priest,  who  has  to  admit  that 
he  has  failed  to  do  his  part  faithfully. 

Now  if  we  compare  this  with  Beowulf,  we  see  that  in  the 
Icelandic  story  much  is  different:  for  example,  in  the  Grettis 
saga  it  is  the  female  monster  who  raids  the  habitation  of  men, 
the  male  who  stays  at  home  in  his  den.  In  this  the  Grettis 
saga  probably  represents  a  corrupt  tradition:  for,  that  the 
female  should  remain  at  home  whilst  the  male  searches  for 
his  prey,  is  a  rule  which  holds  good  for  devils  as  well  as  for  men^. 

^  The  tradition  of  "the  devil  and  his  dam"  resembles  that  of  Grendel  and 
his  mother  in  its  coupling  together  the  home-keeping  female  and  the  roving 
male.  See  E.  Lehmann,  "Fandens  Oldemor"  in  Dania,  vm,  179-194;  a  paper 
which  has  been  mideservedly  neglected  in  the  Beotoulf  bibliographies.     But  the 

O.  B.  4 


50  The  Scandinavian  Parallels —  [CH.  ii 

The  change  was  presumably  made  in  order  to  avoid  the  difl&culty 
— which  the  Beowulf  poet  seems  also  to  have  realized — that 
after  the  male  has  been  slain,  the  rout  of  the  female  is  felt  to 
be  a  deed  of  less  note — something  of  an  anti-climax^. 

The  sword  on  the  wall,  also,  which  in  the  Beowulf-stoij  is 
^  used  by  the  hero,  is,  in  the  Grettir-stoij,  used  by  the  giant  in 
his  attack  on  the  hero. 

But  that  the  two  stories  are  somehow  connected  cannot  be 
disputed.  Apart  from  the  general  likeness,  we  have  details 
such  as  the  escape  of  the  monster  after  the  loss  of  an  arm,  the 
J^  fire  burning  in  the  cave,  the  hefti-sax,  a  word  which,  like  its  old 
English  equivalent  {hseft-mece,  Beowulf,  1457),  is  found  in  this 
story  only,  and  the  strange  reasoning  of  the  watchers  that  the 
y  blood-stained  water  must  necessarily  be  due  to  the  hero's 
death2. 

Now  obviously  such  a  series  of  resemblances  cannot  be 
the  result  of  an  accident.  Either  the  Grettir-stoiy  is  derived 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  Beowulf  epic,  more  or  less  as  we 
have  it,  or  both  stories  are  derived  from  one  common  earlier 
source.  The  scholars  who  first  discovered  the  resemblance 
believed  that  both  stories  were  independently  derived  from 
one  original^.  This  view  has  generally  been  endorsed  by  later 
investigators,  but  not  universally^.  And  this  is  one  of  the 
questions  which  the  student  cannot  leave  open,  because  our 
view  of  the  origin  of  the  Grendel-stoiy  will  have  to  depend 
largely  upon  the  view  we  take  as  to  its  connection  with  the 
episode  in  the  Grettis  saga. 

If  this  episode  be  derived  from  Beowulf,  then  we  have  an 
interesting  literary  curiosity,  but  nothing  further.     But  if  it  is 

devil  beats  his  dam  (cf.  Piers  Plowman,  C-text,  xxi,  284) :  conduct  of  which  one 
cannot  imagine  Grendel  guilty.  See  too  Lehmann  in  Arch.  f.  Religionstoiss. 
vin,  411-30:    Panzer,  Bacwulf,  130,  137,  etc.:  Klaeber  in  Anglia,  xxxvi,  188. 

1  Cf.  Beovmlf,  U.  1282-7. 

2  There  are  other  coincidences  which  may  be  the  result  of  mere  chance. 
In  each  case,  before  the  adventure  with  the  giants,  the  hero  proves  his  strength 
by  a  feat  of  endurance  in  the  ice-cold  water.  And,  at  the  end  of  the  story,  the 
hero  in  each  case  produces,  as  evidence  of  his  victory,  a  trophy  with  a  runic 
inscription :  in  Beowulf  an  engraved  sword-hilt ;  in  the  Grettis  saga  bones  and 
a  "rune-staJBf." 

3  Vigfiisson,  Corp.  Poet.  Boreale,  n,  502:    Bugge,  P.B.B.  xii,  58. 

*  Boer,  for  example,  believes  that  Beowulf  influenced  the  Grettis  saga 
{Grettis  saga,  Introduction,  xUii);   so,  tentatively,  Olrik  {Hdtedigtning,  i,  248). 


SECT,  ii]  GretMr  and  Orm  51 

independently  derived  from  a  common  source,  then  the  episode 
in  the  saga,  although  so  much  later,  may  nevertheless  contain 
features  which  have  been  obhterated  or  confused  or  forgotten 
in  the  Beowulf  version.  In  that  case  the  story,  as  given  in  the 
Grettis  saga,  would  be  of  great  weight  in  any  attempt  to  re-  \ 
construct  the  presumed  original  form  of  the  Grendel-atoiy.        ] 

The  evidence  seems  to  me  to  support  strongly  the  view  of 
the  majority  of  scholars — that  the  (rre^^tV-episode  is  not  de- 
rived from  Beowulf  in  the  form  in  which  that  poem  has  come  / 
down  to  us,  but  that  both  come  from  one  common  source.         ^ 

It  is  certain  that  the  story  of  the  monster  invading  a 
dwelling  of  men  and  rendering  it  uninhabitable,  till  the  ad- 
venturous deUverer  arrives,  did  not  originate  with  Hrothgar 
and  Heorot.  It  is  an  ancient  and  widespread  type  of  story,  of  | 
which  one  version  is  localized  at  the  Danish  court.  When 
therefore  we  find  it  existing,  independently  of  its  Danish 
setting,  the  presumption  is  in  favour  of  this  being  a  survival 
of  the  old  independent  story.  Of  course  it  is  conceivable  that 
the  Hrothgar-Heorot  setting  might  have  been  first  added,  and 
subsequently  stripped  off  again  so  clean  that  no  trace  of  it 
remains.  But  it  seems  going  out  of  our  way  to  assume  this, 
unless  we  are  forced  to  do  so^. 

Again,  it  is  certain  that  these  stories — like  all  the  subject 
matter  of  the  Old  Enghsh  epic — did  not  originate  in  England,  v 
but  were  brought  across  the  North  Sea  from  the  old  home,  j  /l 
And  that  old  home  was  in  the  closest  connection,  so  far  as  the 
passage  to  and  fro  of  story  went,  with  Scandinavian  lands. 
Nothing  could  be  intrinsically  more  probable  than  that  a  story, 
current  in  ancient  Angel  and  carried  thence  to  England,  should 
also  have  been  current  in  Scandinavia,  and  thence  have  been 
carried  to  Iceland. 

Other  stories  which  were  current  in  England  in  the  eighth 
century  were  also  current  in  Scandinavia  in  the  thirteenth.  Yet 
this  does  not  mean  that  the  tales  of  Hroar  and  Rolf,  or  of 
Athils  and  Ali,  were  borrowed  from  English  epic  accounts  of 
Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf ,  or  Eadgils  and  Onela.  They  were  part 
of  the  common  inheritance — as  much  so  as  the  strong  verbs 

1  For  this  argument  and  the  following,  cf.  Schiick,  Studier  i  BeowuJfssagan,  21. 

4—2 


y 


> 


i 


52  The  Scandinavian  Parallels —  [CH.  ii 

or  the  alliterative  line.  Why  then,  contrary  to  all  analogy, 
should  we  assume  a  literary  borrowing  in  the  case  of  the 
Beowulf-Grettir-atoTj  ?  The  compiler  of  the  Greltis  saga  could 
not  possibly  have  drawn  his  material  from  a  ms  of  Beowulp^ : 
he  could  not  have  made  sense  of  a  single  passage.  He  con- 
ceivably might  have  drawn  from  traditions  derived  from  the 
Old  English  epic.  But  it  is  difficult  to  see  how.  Long  before 
his  time  these  traditions  had  for  the  most  part  been  forgotten 
in  England  itself.  One  of  the  longest  lived  of  all,  that  of  Offa, 
is  heard  of  for  the  last  time  in  England  at  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  That  a  Scandinavian  sagaman  at  the  end 
of  the  century  could  have  been  in  touch,  in  any  way,  with 
Anglo-Saxon  epic  tradition  seems  on  the  whole  unlikely.  The 
Scandinavian  tradition  of  Offa,  scholars  are  now  agreed^,  was  not 
borrowed  from  England,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
assume  such  borrowing  in  the  case  of  Grettir. 

The  probability  is,  then,  considerable,  that  the  Beowulf- 
story  and  the  Grettir-atoij  are  independently  derived  from  one 
common  original. 

And  this  probability  would  be  confirmed  to  a  certainty  if 
we  should  find  that  features  which  have  been  confused  and 
half  obliterated  in  the  O.E.  story  become  clear  when  we  turn  ' 
to  the  Icelandic.  This  argument  has  lately  been  brought 
forward  by  Dr  Lawrence  in  his  essay  on  "The  Haunted  Mere 
in  Beowulpy  Impressive  as  the  account  of  this  mere  is,  it 
does  not  convey  any  very  clear  picture.  Grendel's  home 
seems  sometimes  to  be  in  the  sea:  and  again  it  seems  to  be 
amid  marshes,  moors  and  fens,  and  again  it  is  "where  the 
mountain  torrent  goes  down  under  the  darkness  of  the  cliffs 
— the  water  below  the  ground  (i.e.  beneath  overhanging  rocks)." 

This  last  account  agrees  admirably  with  the  landscape 
depicted  in  the  Grettis  saga,  and  the  gorge  many  fathoms  deep 
through  which  the  stream  rushes,  after  it  has  fallen  over  the 
precipice;  not  so  the  other  accounts.     These  descriptions  are 

1  Even  assuming  that  a  ms  of  Beotvulf  had  found  its  way  to  Iceland,  it  would 
have  been  unintelligible.  This  is  shown  by  the  absurd  blunders  made  when 
Icelanders  borrowed  names  from  the  O.E.  genealogies. 

2  Cf.  Ob-ik,  A.  f.  n.  F.,  vm  (N.F.  iv),  368-75;  and  Chadwick,  Origin,  125-6. 

3  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxvn,  208  etc. 


SECT,  ii]  Grettir  and  Orm  63 

best  harmonized  if  we  imagine  an  original  version  in  which 
the  monsters  live,  as  in  the  Grettis  saga,  in  a  hole  under  the 
waterfall.  This  story,  natural  enough  in  a  Scandinavian 
country,  would  be  less  intelUgible  as  it  travelled  South.  The  '^ 
Angles  and  Saxons,  both  in  their  old  home  on  the  Continent 
and  their  new  one  in  England,  were  accustomed  to  a  somewhat 
flat  country,  and  would  be  more  inchned  to  place  the  dwelhng 
of  outcast  spirits  in  moor  and  fen  than  under  waterfalls,  of 
which  they  probably  had  only  an  elementary  conception. 
"The  giant  must  dwell  in  the  fen,  alone  in  the  land^." 

Now  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that,  after  the 
landscape  had  been  blurred  as  it  is  in  Beowulf,  it  could  have 
been  brought  out  again  with  the  distinctness  it  has  in  the 
Grettis  saga.  To  preserve  the  features  so  clearly  the  Grettir-  X 
story  can  hardly  be  derived  from  Beowulf:  it  must  have  come 
down  independently. 

But  if  so,  it  becomes  at  once  of  prime  importance.  For  by 
a  comparison  of  Beowulf  and  Grettir  we  must  form  an  idea  of 
what  the  original  story  was,  from  which  both  were  derived 

Another   parallel,   though   a   less   striking   one,   has  been 
-found  in  the  story  of  Orm  Storolfsson,  which  is  extant  in  a 
short  saga  about  contemporary  with  that  of  Grettir,  Ormspdttr 
Storolfssonar^,  in  two  ballads  from  the  Faroe  Islands^  and  two  /( 
from  Sweden*. 

It  is  generally  asserted  that  the  Orm-story  affords  a  close 
parallel  to  the  episodes  of  Grendel  and  his  mother.  I  cannot 
find  close  resemblance,  and  I  strongly  suspect  that  the  re- 
petition of  the  assertion  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Orm-story 
has  not  been  very  easily  accessible,  and  has  often  been  taken 
as  read  by  the  critics. 

But,  in  any  case,  it  has  been  proved  that  the  Orm-tale 
borrows  largely  from  other  sagas,  and  notably  from  the  Grettis 
saga  itself^.  Before  arguing,  therefore,  from  any  parallel,  it 
must  first  be  shown  that  the  feature  in  which  Orm  resembles 

^  Cotton.  Gnomic  Verses,  11.  42-3.  ^  Farnmannaaqgur,  in,  204-228. 

*  Hammershaimb,  Fseroiske  Kvoeder,  n,  1855,  Nos.  11  and  12. 

*  A.  I.  Arwidsson,  Svenska  Fornaanger,  1834-42,  Nos.  8  and  9, 
5  Boer,  Beowulf,  177-180. 


54    The  Scandinavian  Parallels — Grettir  and  Orm    [CH.  ii 

Beowulf  is  not  derived  at  second  hand  from  the  Grettis  saga. 
One  such  feature  there  is,  namely  Orm's  piety,  which  he  cer- 
tainly does  not  derive  from  Grettir.  In  this  he  with  equal 
certainty  resembles  Beowulf.  According  to  modem  ideas, 
indeed,  there  is  more  of  the  Christian  hero  in  Beowulf  than 
in  Orm. 

Now  Orm  owes  his  victory  to  the  fact,  among  other  things, 
that,  at  the  critical  moment,  he  vows  to  God  and  the  holy 
apostle  St  Peter  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  should  he  be 
successful.  In  this  a  parallel  is  seen  to  the  fact  that  Beowulf  is 
saved,  not  only  by  his  coat  of  mail,  but  also  by  the  divine 
interposition^.  But  is  this  really  a  parallel?  Beowulf  is  too 
much  of  a  sportsman  to  buy  victory  by  making  a  vow  when  in 
a  tight  place.  G^d'  a  wyrd  swd  hio  sceP  is  the  exact  antithesis 
of  Orm's  pledge. 

However,  I  have  given  in  the  Second  Part  the  text  of  the 
Orm- episode,  so  that  readers  may  judge  for  themselves  the 
closeness  or  remoteness  of  the  parallel. 

The  parallel  between  Grettir  and  Beowulf  was  noted  by  the 
Icelander  Gudbrand  VigMsson  upon  his  first  reading  Beowulf  (see 
Prolegomena  to  Sturlunga  saga^  1878,  p.  xUx:  Corpus  Poeticum 
BorealCf  n,  501:  Icelandic  Reader,  1879,  404).  It  was  elaborately- 
worked  out  by  Gering  in  Anglia,  ni,  74-87,  and  it  is  of  course  noticed 
in  almost  every  discussion  of  Beowulf.  The  parallel  with  Orm  was 
first  noted  by  Schiick  {Svensk  Literaturhistoria,  Stockholm,  1886,  etc., 
I,  62)  and  independently  by  Bugge  {P.B.B.  xn,  58-68). 

The  best  edition  of  the  Grettis  saga  is  the  excellent  one  of  Boer 
(Halle,  1900),  but  the  opinions  there  expressed  as  to  the  relationship 
of  the  episodes  to  each  other  and  to  the  Grendel  story  have  not  re- 
ceived the  general  support  of  scholars. 


Section  III.    Bothvar  Bjarki. 

We  have  seen  that  there  are  in  Beowulf  two  distinct  elements, 
which  never  seem  quite  harmonized :  firstly  the  historic  back- 
ground of  the  Danish  and  Geatic  courts,  with  their  chieftains, 
Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf ,  or  Hrethel  and  Hygelac :  and  secondly 
the  old  wives'  fables  of  struggles  with  ogres  and  dragons.  In 
the  story  of  Grettir,  the  ogre  fable  appears — unmistakably 
connected  with  the  similar  story  as  given  in  Beowulf,  but  with 

1  11.  1563-6.  2  1.  455_ 


Ii 


I 


SECT.  Ill]  Bothvar  Bjarhi  66 

no  faintest  trace  of  having  ever  possessed  any  Danish  heroic 
setting. 

Turning  back  to  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  we  do  find  against 
that  Danish  setting  a  figure,  that  of  the  hero  Bothvar  Bjarki, 
bearing  a  very  remarkable  resemblance  to  Beowulf. 

Bjarki,  bent  on  adventure,  leaves  the  land  of  the  Gautar 
(Gotar),  where  his  brother  is  king,  and  reaches  Leire,  where 
Rolf,  the  king  of  the  Danes,  holds  his  court;  [just  as  Beowulf, 
bent  on  adventure,  leaves  the  land  of  the  Geatas  (Gotar)  where 
his  uncle  is  king,  and  reaches  Heorot,  where  Hrothgar  and 
Hrothulf  (Rolf)  hold  court]. 

Arrived  at  Leire,  Bjarki  takes  under  his  protection  the 
despised  coward  Hott,  whom  Rolfs  retainers  have  been  wont 
to  bully.  The  champions  at  the  Danish  court  [in  Beowulf  one 
of  them  only — Unferth]  prove  quarrelsome,  and  they  assail 
the  hero  during  the  feast,  in  the  Saga  by  throwing  bones  at  him, 
in  Beowulf  only  by  bitter  words.  The  hero  in  each  case  replies, 
in  kind,  with  such  effect  that  the  enemy  is  silenced. 

But  despite  the  fame  and  splendour  of  the  Danish  court, 
it  has  long  been  subject  to  the  attacks  of  a  strange  monster^ 
— a  winged  beast  whom  no  iron  will  bite  [just  as  Grendel  is 
immune  from  swords ^J.  Bjarki  [Uke  Beowulf 3]  is  scornful  at 
the  inabihty  of  the  Danes  to  defend  their  own  home :  "  if  one 
beast  can  lay  waste  the  kingdom  and  the  cattle  of  the  king." 
He  goes  out  to  fight  with  the  monster  by  night,  accompanied 
only  by  Hott.  He  tries  to  draw  his  sword,  but  the  sword  is 
fast  in  its  sheath :  he  tugs,  the  sword  comes  out,  and  he  slays 
the  beast  with  it.  This  seems  a  most  pointless  incident: 
taken  in  connection  with  the  supposed  invulnerability  of  the 
foe,  it  looks  like  the  survival  of  some  episode  in  which  the  hero 
was  unwilling  [as  in  Beowulf's  fight  with  Grendel*]  or  unable 
[as  in  Beowulf's  fight  with  Grendel's  mother^]  to  slay  the  foe 

^  The  attacks  have  taken  place  at  Yule  for  two  successive  years,  exactly 
as  in  the  Qrettia  saga.  [In  Beowlf  it  is,  of  course,  "twelve  winters"  (1.  147).] 
Is  this  mere  accident,  or  does  the  Orettis  saga  here  preserve  the  original  time 
limit,  which  has  been  exaggerated  in  Bemmlft  If  so,  we  have  another  point 
of  resemblance  between  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki  and  the  earliest  version  of  the 
Beoumlf&toTy, 

2  Beovmlf,  U.  801-6.  3  Cf.  Beovmlf,  11.  690-606. 

<  Beovmlf,  1.  679.  »  Beovmlf,  U.  1608-9,  1524. 


66  Bothvar  BjarJd  [CH.  ii 

with  his  sword.  Bjarki  then  compels  the  terrified  coward 
Hott  to  drink  the  monster's  blood.  Hott  forthwith  becomes 
a  vahant  champion,  second  only  to  Bjarki  himself.  The  beast 
is  then  propped  up  as  if  still  alive :  when  it  is  seen  next  morning 
the  king  calls  upon  his  retainers  to  play  the  man,  and  Bjarki 
tells  Hott  that  now  is  the  time  to  clear  his  reputation.  Hott 
demands  first  the  sword,  Gullinhjalti,  from  Kolf,  and  with  this 
he  slays  the  dead  beast  a  second  time.  King  Rolf  is  not 
deceived  by  this  trick ;  yet  he  rejoices  that  Bjarki  has  not  only 
himself  slain  the  monster,  but  changed  the  cowardly  Hott 
into  a  champion;  he  commands  that  Hott  shall  be  called 
Hjalti,  after  the  sword  which  has  been  given  him.  We  are 
hardly  justified  in  demanding  logic  in  a  wild  tale  like  this,  or 
one  might  ask  how  Rolf  was  convinced  of  Hott's  valour  by 
what  he  knew  to  be  a  piece  of  stage  management  on  the  part 
of  Bjarki.  But,  however  that  may  be,  it  is  remarkable  that  in 
Beowulf  also  the  monster  Grendel,  though  proof  against  all 
ordinary  weapons,  is  smitten  when  dead  by  a  magic  sword 
of  which  the  golden  hilt^  is  specially  mentioned. 

In  addition  to  the  undeniable  similarity  of  the  stories  of 
these  heroes,  a  certain  similarity  of  name  has  been  claimed. 
That  Bjarki  is  not  etymologically  connected  with  Beowulf  or 
Beow  is  clear:  but  if  we  are  to  accept  the  identification  of 
Beowulf  and  Beow,  remembering  that  the  Scandinavian  equi- 
valent of  the  latter  is  said  to  be  Bjdr,  the  resemblance  to  Bjarki 
is\)bvious.  Similarity  of  sound  might  have  caused  one  name 
to  be  substituted  for  another^.  This  argument  obviously 
depends  upon  the  identification  Beow  =  Bjdr,  which  is  ex- 
tremely doubtful :  it  will  be  argued  below  that  it  is  more  likely 
that  Beow  =  By ggvir^. 

But  force  remains  in  the  argument  that  the  name  Bjarki 
(little  bear)  is  very  appropriate  to  a  hero  like  the  Beowulf  of 

^  It  is  only  in  this  adventure  that  Rolf  carries  the  sword  Gullinhjalti. 
His  usual  sword,  as  well  known  as  Arthur's  ExcaHbur,  was  Skofnungr.  For 
Oyldenhiltf  whether  descriptive,  or  proper  noun,  see  Beovmlf,  1677. 

*  Cf.  Symons  in  Pauls  Grdr.  (2),  m,  649 :  Ziige  aus  dem  anglischen  Mythus 
von  Beaw-Biar  (Biarr  oder  Bjar?;  s.  Symons  Lieder  der  Edda,  i,  222)  wurden 
auf  den  danischen  Sagenhelden  (BoSvarr)  Bjarki  durch  Ahnlichkeit  der  Namen 
veranlasst,  iibertragen.   Cf.  too,  Heusler  in  A.f.d.A.  xxx,  32. 

*  See  p.  87  and  Appendix  (A)  below. 


I 


SECT.  Ill]  Bothvar  BjarTci  57 

our  epic,  who  crushes  or  hugs  his  foe  to  death  instead  of  using 
his  sword ;   even  if  we  do  not  accept  explanations  which  would     . 
interpret  the  name  "Beowulf"  itself  as  a  synonym  for  "Bear."     ' 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  then,  that  most  critics 
have  seen  in  Bjarki  a  Scandinavian  parallel  to  Beowulf.  But 
serious  difficulties  remain.  There  is  in  the  Scandinavian  story 
a  mass  of  detail  quite  unparallelled  in  Beowulf,  which  over- 
shadows the  resemblances,  Bjarki's  friendship,  for  example, 
with  the  coward  Hott  or  Hjalti  has  no  counterpart  in  Beowulf. 
And  Bjarki  becomes  a  retainer  of  King  Rolf  and  dies  in  his 
service,  whilst  Beowulf  never  comes  into  direct  contact  with 
Hrothulf  at  all ;  the  poet  seems  to  avoid  naming  them  together. 
Still,  it  is  quite  intelhgible  that  the  story  should  have  developed 
on  different  lines  in  Scandinavia  from  those  which  it  followed 
in  England,  till  the  new  growths  overshadowed  the  original 
resemblance,  without  obliterating  it.  After  nearly  a  thousand 
years  of  independent  development  discrepancies  must  be  ex- 
pected. It  would  not  be  a  reasonable  objection  to  the  identity 
of  Gullinhjalti  with  Gyldenhilt,  that  the  word  hilt  had  grown  to 
have  a  rather  different  meaning  in  Norse  and  in  English; 
subsequent  developments  do  not  invalidate  an  original  re- 
semblance if  the  points  of  contact  are  really  there. 

But,  allowing  for  this  independent  growth  in  Scandinavia, 
we  should  naturally  expect  that  the  further  back  we  traced  the 
story  the  greater  the  resemblance  would  become. 

This  brings  us  to  the  second,  serious  difficulty :  that,  when  y^e 
turn  from  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki — belonging  in  its  present  form 
perhaps  to  the  early  fifteenth  century — to  the  pages  of  Saxo  * 
Orammaticus,  who  tells  the  same  tale  more  than  two  centuries  '^ 
earlier,  the  resemblance,  instead  of  becoming  stronger,  almost 
vanishes.  Nothing  is  said  of  Bjarki  coming  from  Gautland,  or 
indeed  of  his  being  a  stranger  at  the  Danish  court :  nothing  is 
said  of  the  monster  having  paid  previous  visits,  visits  repeated 
till  king  Rolf,  hke  Hrothgar,  has  to  give  up  all  attempt  at 
resistance,  and  submit  to  its  depredations.  The  monster, 
instead  of  being  a  troll,  like  Grendel,  becomes  a  commonplace 
bear.  All  Saxo  tells  us  is  that  "He  [Biarco,  i.e.  Bjarki]  met 
a,  great  bear  in  a  thicket  and  slew  it  with  a  spear,  and  bade  his 


58  Bothvar  Bjarhi  [CH.  ii 

comrade  lalto  [i.e.  Hjalti]  place  his  lips  to  the  beast  and  drink 
its  blood  as  it  flowed,  that  he  might  become  stronger." 

Hence  the  Danish  scholar,  Axel  Olrik,  in  the  best  and  most 
elaborate  discussion  of  Bjarki  and  all  about  him,  has  roundly- 
denied  any  connection  between  his  hero  and  Beowulf.  He  is 
astonished  at  the  slenderness  of  the  evidence  upon  which 
previous  students  have  argued  for  relationship.  "Neither 
Beowulf's  wrestling  match  in  the  hall,  nor  in  the  fen,  nor  his 
struggle  with  the  firedrake  has  any  real  identity,  but  when  we 
take  a  little  of  them  all  we  can  get  a  kind  of  similarity  with 
the  latest  and  worst  form  of  the  Bjarki  saga^."  The  develop- 
ment of  Saxo's  bear  into  a  winged  monster,  "the  worst  of 
trolls,"  Olrik  regards  as  simply  in  accordance  with  the  usual 
heightening,  in  later  Icelandic,  of  these  early  stories  of  struggles 
with  beasts,  and  of  this  he  gives  a  parallel  instance.  ^ 

Some  Icelandic  ballads  on  Bjarki  (the  BjarJca  rimur),  which 
were  first  printed  in  1904,  were  claimed  by  Olrik  as  supporting 
his  contention.  These  ballads  belong  to  about  the  year  1400. 
Yet,  though  they  are  thus  in  date  and  dialect  closely  allied  to 
the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki  and  remote  from  Saxo  Grammaticus, 
they  are  so  far  from  supporting  the  tradition  of  the  Saga  with 
regard  to  the  monster  slain,  that  they  represent  the  foe  first  as 
a  man-eating  she- wolf,  which  is  slain  by  Bjarki,  then  as  a  grey 
bear  [as  in  Saxo],  which  is  slain  by  Hjalti  after  he  has  been 
compelled  to  drink  the  blood  of  the  she-wolf.  We  must  there- 
fore give  up  the  winged  beast  as  mere  later  elaboration;  for 
if  the  Bjarki  ballads  in  a  point  like  this  support  Saxo,  as  against 
the  Saga  which  is  so  closely  connected  with  them  by  its  date 
and  Icelandic  tongue,  we  must  admit  Saxo's  version  here  to 
represent,  beyond  dispute,  the  genuine  tradition. 

Accordingly  the  attempt  which  has  been  made  to  connect 
Bjarki's  winged  monster  with  Beowulf's  winged  dragon  goes 
overboard  at  once.  But  such  an  attempt  ought  never  to 
have  been  made  at  all.  The  parallel  is  between  Bjarki  and  the 
Beowulf-Grendel  episode,  not  between  Bjarki  and  the  Beowulf- 
dragon  episode,  which  ought  to  be  left  out  of  consideration. 
And  the  monstrous  bear  and  the  wolf  of  the  Rimur  are  not  so 


Heltedigtning,  i,  1903,  135-6. 


I 


SECT.  Ill]  Bothvar  Bjarhi  69 

dissimilar  from  Grendel,  with  his  bear-hke  hug,  and  Grendel's 
mother,  the  *  sea- wolf  i.' 

The  likeness  between  Beowulf  and  Bjarki  lies,  not  in  the  , 
wingedness  or  otherwise  of  the  monsters  they  overthrow,  but  1 1 
in  the  similarity  of  the  position — in  the  situation  which  places 
the  most  famous  court  of  the  North,  and  its  illustrious  king, 
at  the  mercy  of  a  ravaging  foe,  till  a  chance  stranger  from 
Gautland  brings  deliverance.  And  here  the  Rimur  support,  not 
Saxo,  but  the  Saga,  though  in  an  outworn  and  faded  way. 
In  the  Rimur  Bjarki  is  a  stranger  come  from  abroad:  the 
bear  has  made  previous  attacks  upon  the  king's  folds. 

Thus,  whilst  we  grant  the  wings  of  the  beast  to  be  a  later 
elaboration,  it  does  not  in  the  least  follow  that  other  features 
in  which  the  Saga  differs  from  Saxo — the  advent  of  Bjarki  from 
Gautland,  for  instance — are  also  later  elaboration. 

And  we  must  be  careful  not  to  attach  too  much  weight  to 
the  account  of  Saxo  merely  because  it  is  earlier  in  date  than 
that  of  the  Saga.  The  presumption  is,  of  course,  that  the 
earlier  form  will  be  the  more  original :  but  just  as  a  late  manu- 
script will  often  preserve,  amidst  its  corruptions,  features 
which  are  lost  in  much  earlier  manuscripts,  so  will  a  tradition. 
Saxo's  accounts  are  often  imperfect^.  And  in  this  particular 
instance,  there  is  a  want  of  coherency  and  intelligibility  in 
Saxo's  account,  which  in  itself  affords  a  strong  presumption 
that  it  is  imperfect. 

What  Saxo  tells  us  is  this: 

At  which  banquet,  when  the  champions  were  rioting  with  every 
kind  of  wantonness,  and  flinging  knuckle- bones  at  a  certain  lalto 
[Hjalti]  from  all  sides,  it  happened  that  his  messmate  Biarco  [Bjarki] 
through  the  bad  aim  of  the  thrower  received  a  severe  blow  on  the  head. 
But  Biarco,  equally  annoyed  by  the  injury  and  the  insult,  sent  the 
bone  back  to  the  thrower,  so  that  he  twisted  the  front  of  his  head 
to  the  back  and  the  back  to  the  front,  punishing  the  cross-grain  of 
the  man's  temper  by  turning  his  face  round  about. 

But  who  were  this  "certain  Hjalti"  and  Bjarki?  There  seems 
to  be  something  missing  in  the  story.  The  explanation  [which 
Saxo  does  not  give  us,  but  the  Saga  does]  that  Bjarki  has 
come  from  afar  and  taken  the  despised  Hott-Hjalti  under  his 

1  Beovmlf,  1618. 

2  See  Heusler  in  Z.f.d.A.  XLVin,  62. 


60  Bothvar  BjarU  [CH.  ii 

protection,  seems  to  be  necessary.  Why  was  Hjalti  chosen  as 
the  victim,  at  whom  missiles  were  to  be  discharged?  Ob- 
viously [though  Saxo  does  not  tell  us  so],  because  he  was  the 
butt  of  the  mess.  And  if  Bjarki  had  been  one  of  the  mess 
for  many  hours,  his  messmates  would  have  known  him  too  well 
to  throw  knuckle-bones  either  at  him  or  his  friend.  This  is 
largely  a  matter  of  personal  feeling,  but  Saxo's  account  seems 
to  me  pointless,  till  it  is  supplemented  from  the  Saga^. 

And  there  is  one  further  piece  of  evidence  which  seems  to 
clinch  the  whole  matter  finally,  though  its  importance  has  been 
curiously  overlooked,  by  Panzer  and  Lawrence  in  their  argu- 
ments for  the  identification,  and  by  Olrik  in  his  arguments  to 
the  contrary. 

We  have  seen  above  how  Beowulf  "became  a  friend"  to 
Eadgils,  helping  him  in  his  expedition  against  King  Onela  of 
Sweden,  and  avenging,  in  *'  chill  raids  fraught  with  woe,'*  cealdum 
cearsi^um,  the  wrongs  which  Onela  had  inflicted  upon  the 
Geatas.  We  saw,  too,  that  this  expedition  was  remembered 
in  Scandinavian  tradition.  "They  had  a  battle  on  the  ice  of 
Lake  Wener;  there  King  Ali  fell,  and  Athils  had  the  victory. 
Concerning  this  battle  there  is  much  said  in  the  Skjoldunga 
sagay  The  Skjoldunga  saga  is  lost,  but  the  Latin  extracts 
from  it  give  some  information  about  this  battle^.  Further,  an 
account  of  it  is  preserved  in  the  Bjarka  rimur,  probably  derived 
from  the  lost  Skjoldunga  saga.  And  the  Bjarka  rimur  expressly 
mention  Bjarki  as  helping  Athils  in  this  battle  against  Ali  on 
the  ice  of  Lake  Wener^. 

'  Olrik  does  not  seem  to  allow  for  this  at  all,  though  of  course 
aware  of  it.  The  other  parallels  between  Bjarki  and  Beowulf 
he  believes  to  be  mere  coincidence.     But  is  this  likely? 

To  recapitulate:  In  old  English  tradition  a  hero  comes 
from  the  land  of  the  Geatas  to  the  royal  court  of  Denmark, 
where  Hrothgar  and  Hrothulf  hold  sway.  This  hero  is  re- 
ceived in  none  too  friendly  wise  by  one  of  the  retainers,  but 


*  Cf.  on  this  Heusler,  Z.f.d.A.  XLVin,  64-5. 

*  Cf.  Skjoldunga  saga,  cap.  xii;   and   see   Olrik,   Heltedigtning,  i,    201-5 
Bjarka  rimur,  vm. 

*  Similarly  Skdldskaparmdl,  41  (44). 


i 
I 


SECT.  Ill]  Bothvar  Bjarhi  61 

puts  his  foe  to  shame,  is  warmly  welcomed  by  the  king,  and 
slays  by  night  a  monster  which  has  been  attacking  the  Danish 
capital  and  against  which  the  warriors  of  that  court  have  been 
helpless.  The  monster  is  proof  against  all  swords,  yet  its 
dead  body  is  mutilated  by  a  sword  with  a  golden  hilt.  Sub- 
sequently this  same  hero  helps  King  Eadgils  of  Sweden  to  ^ 
overthrow  Onela. 

We  find  precisely  the  same  situation  in  Icelandic  tradition 
some  seven  centuries  later,  except  that  not  Hrothgar  and 
Hrothulf,  but  Hrothulf  (Rolf)  alone  is  represented  as  ruling  the  sj 
Danes,  and  the  sword  with  the  golden  hilt  has  become  a  sword 
named  "  Golden-hilt."  It  is  conceivable  for  a  situation  to  have 
been  reconstructed  in  this  way  by  mere  accident,  just  as  it  is 
conceivable  that  one  player  may  have  the  eight  or  nine  best 
trumps  dealt  him.  But  it  does  not  seem  advisable  to  base 
one's  calculations,  as  Olrik  does,  upon  such  an  accident 
happening. 

The  parallel  of  Bjarki  and  Beowulf  seems  to  have  been  first  noted 
by  Gisli  BrynjuKsson  {Antiquarisk  Tidsskrift,  1852-3,  p.  130).  It  has 
been  often  discussed  by  Sarrazin  [Beowulf  Stvdien,  13  etc.,  47 :  Anglia, 
IX,  195  etc.  Engl.  Stud,  xvi,  79  etc.,  xxni,  242  etc.,  xxxv,  19  etc.), 
Sarrazin' s  over-elaborated  parallels  form  a  broad- target  for  doubters: 
it  must  be  remembered  that  a  case,  though  it  may  be  discredited,  is 
not  invalidated  by  exaggeration.  The  problem  is  of  course  noted 
in  the  Beowulf  studies  of  Miillenhoff  (55),  Bugge  [P.B.B.  xii,  55) 
and  Boer  [Die  Beowulfsage,  ii,  in  Arkiv  f.  nord.  filol.  xix,  44  etc.)  and 
discussed  at  length  and  convincingly  by  Panzer  (364-386)  and  Law- 
rence {Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  1909,  222  etc.).  The 
usual  view  which  accepts  some  relationship  is  endorsed  by  all  these 
scholars,  as  it  is  by  Finnur  J6nsson  in  his  edition  of  the  Hrdlfs  Saga 
Kraka  og  Bjarkarimur  (K0benhavn,  1904,  p.  xxii). 

Ten  Brink  (185  etc.)  denied  any  original  connection,  on  the  ground 
of  the  dissimilarity  between  Beowulf  and  the  story  given  by  Saxo. 
Any  resemblances  between  Beowulf  and  the  Hrdlfs  Saga  he  attributed 
to  the  influence  of  the  EngHsh  Beowulf-stoTj  upon  the  Saga. 

For  Okik's  emphatic  denial  of  any  connection  at  all,  see  Danmarks 
Heltedigtning,  i,  134  etc.  (This  seems  to  have  influenced  Brandl,  wha 
expresses  some  doubt  in  Pauls  Grdr.  (2)  n.  1.  993.)  For  arguments  to 
the  contrary,  see  Heusler  in  A.f.d.A.  xxx,  32,  and  especially  Panzer 
and  Lawrence  as  above. 

The  parallel  of  Gullinhjalti  and  gyldenhilt  was  first  noted  tentatively 
by  Kluge  {En^l.  Stud,  xxn,  145). 


I 


62  Parallels  from  FolUore  [CH.  ii 


Section  IV.    Parallels  from  Folklore. 

Hitherto  we  have  been  deahng  with  parallels  to  the  Grendel 
story  in  written  literature:  but  a  further  series  of  parallels, 
although  much  more  remote,  is  to  be  found  in  that  vast  store 
of  old  wives'  tales  which  no  one  till  the  nineteenth  century  took 
the  trouble  to  write  down  systematically,  but  which  certainly 
go  back  to  a  very  ancient  period.  One  particular  tale,  that  of 
the  Bear's  Son^  (extant  in  many  forms),  has  been  instanced 
as  showing  a  resemblance  to  the  Beowulf -stoiy .  In  this  tale 
the  hero,  a  young  man  of  extraordinary  strength,  (1)  sets  out 
on  his  adventures,  associating  with  himself  various  companions ; 
(2)  makes  resistance  in  a  house  against  a  supernatural  being, 
which  his  fellows  have  in  vain  striven  to  withstand,  and  succeeds 
in  mishandUng  or  mutilating  him.  (3)  By  the  blood-stained 
track  of  this  creature,  or  guided  by  him  in  some  other  manner, 
the  hero  finds  his  way  to  a  spring,  or  hole  in  the  earth,  (4)  is 
lowered  down  by  a  cord  and  (5)  overcomes  in  the  underworld 
different  supernatural  foes,  amongst  whom  is  often  included 
his  former  foe,  or  very  rarely  the  mother  of  that  foe :  victory 
can  often  only  be  gained  by  the  use  of  a  magic  sword  which 
the  hero  finds  below.  (6)  The  hero  is  left  treacherously  in  the 
lurch  by  his  companions,  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  drawn 
him  up... 

Now  it  may  be  objected,  with  truth,  that  this  is  not  like 
the  Beowulf-stoiy,  or  even  particularly  like  the  Grettir-stoTj. 
But  the  question  is  not  merely  whether  it  resembles  these 
stories  as  we  possess  them,  but  whether  it  resembles  the  story 
which  must  have  been  the  common  origin  of  both.  And  we 
have  only  to  try  to  reconstruct  from  Beowulf  and  from  the 
Grettis  saga  a  tale  which  can  have  been  the  common  original 
of  both,  to  see  that  it  must  be  something  extraordinarily  lik; 
the  folk-tale  outUned  above. 


1  Barensohn.  Jean  I'Ours.  The  name  is  given  to  the  group  because  tb 
hero  is  frequently  (though  by  no  means  always)  represented  as  having  been 
brought  up  in  a  bear's  den.  The  story  summarized  above  is  a  portion  of 
Panzer's  "Type  A."    See  Appendix  (H),  below. 


I 


SECT,  iv]  Parallels  from  FolUore  63 

For  example,  it  is  true  that  the  departure  of  the  Danes 
homeward  because  they  beheve  that  Beowulf  has  met  his 
death  in  the  water  below,  bears  only  the  remotest  resemblance 
to  the  deliberate  treachery  which  the  companions  in  the  folk- 
tale mete  out  to  the  hero.  But  when  we  compare  the  Grettir- 
story,  we  see  there  that  a  real  breach  of  trust  is  involved,  for 
there  the  priest  Stein  leaves  the  hero  in  the  lurch,  and  abandons 
the  rope  by  which  he  should  have  drawn  Grettir  up.  This  can 
hardly  be  an  innovation  on  the  part  of  the  composer  of  the 
Grettis  saga,  for  he  is  quite  well  disposed  towards  Stein,  and  has 
no  motive  for  wantonly  attributing  treachery  to  him.  The 
innovation  presumably  Hes  in  the  Beowulf -stoiy,  where  Hrothgar 
and  his  court  are  depicted  in  such  a  friendly  spirit  that  no  dis- 
reputable act  can  be  attributed  to  them,  and  consequently 
Hrothgar's  departure  home  must  not  be  allowed  in  any  way 
to  imperil  or  inconvenience  the  hero.  A  comparison  of  the 
Beowulf-stoxy  with  the  Grettir-stoiy  leads  then  to  the  con- 
clusion that  in  the  oldest  version  those  who  remained  above 
when  the  hero  plunged  below  were  guilty  of  some  measure  of 
disloyalty ,  in  ceasing  to  watch  for  him.  In  other  words  wa^ 
see  that  the  further  we  track  the  Beowulf-stoij  back,  the) 
more  it  comes  to  resemble  the  folk-tale.  ^ 

And  our  belief  that  there  is  some  connection  between  the  A 
folk-tale  and  the  original  of  Beowulf  must  be  strengthened 
when  we  find  that,  by  a  comparison  of  the  folk-tale,  we  are 
able  to  explain  features  in  Beowulf  which  strike  us  as  difficult 
and  even  absurd:  precisely  as  when  we  turn  to  a  study  of 
Shakespeare's  sources  we  often  find  the  explanation  of  things  , 
that  puzzle  us :  we  see  that  the  poet  is  dealing  with  an  un- 
manageable source,  which  he  cannot  make  quite  plausible.  V 
For  instance:  when  Grendel  enters  Heorot  he  kills  and  eats 
the  first  of  Beowulf's  retinue  whom  he  finds:  no  one  tries  to 
prevent  him.  The  only  explanation  which  the  poet  has  to 
offer  is  that  the  retinue  are  all  asleep^ — strange  somnolence  on 
the  part  of  men  who  are  awaiting  a  hostile  attack,  which  they 
expect  will  be  fatal  to  them  all 2.  And  Beowulf  at  any  rate  is 
not  asleep.  Yet  he  calmly  watches  whilst  his  henchman  is 
1  U.  704,  729.  2  U.  691-6. 


64  Parallels  from  Folklore  [CH.  ii 

both  killed  and  eaten:  and  apparently,  but  for  the  accident 
that  the  monster  next  tackles  Beowulf  himself,  he  would  have 
allowed  his  whole  bodyguard  to  be  devoured  one  after  another. 

But  if  we  suppose  the  story  to  be  derived  from  the  folk-tale, 
we  have  an  explanation.  For  in  the  folk-tale,  the  companions 
and  the  hero  await  the  foe  singly,  in  succession:  the  turn  of 
the  hero  comes  last,  after  all  his  companions  have  been  put  to 
shame.  But  Beowulf,  who  is  represented  as  having  specially 
voyaged  to  Heorot  in  order  to  purge  it,  cannot  leave  the  defence 
of  the  hall  for  the  first  night  to  one  of  his  comrades.  Hence 
the  discomfiture  of  the  comrade  and  the  single-handed  success 
of  the  hero  have  to  be  represented  as  simultaneous.  The 
result  is  incongruous :  Beowulf  has  to  look  on  whilst  his  comrade 
is  killed. 

Again,  both  Beowulf  and  Grettir  plunge  in  the  water  with  a 
sword,  and  with  the  deliberate  object  of  shedding  the  monster's 
blood.  Why  then  should  the  watchers  on  the  cliff  above 
assume  that  the  blood-stained  water  must  necessarily  signify 
the  hero's  death,  and  depart  home?  Why  did  it  never  occur 
to  them  that  this  deluge  of  blood  might  much  more  suitably 
proceed  from  the  monster? 

But  we  can  understand  this  unreason  if  we  suppose  that  the 
story-teller  had  to  start  from  the  deHberate  and  treacherous 
departure  of  the  companions,  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  was 
not  to  his  purpose  to  represent  the  companions  as  treacherous. 
In  that  case  some  excuse  must  be  found  for  them:  and  the 
blood-stained  water  was  the  nearest  at  hand^. 

Again,  quite  independently  of  the  folk-tale,  many  Beowulf 
scholars  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  original 
version  of  the  story  the  hero  did  not  wait  for  a  second  attack 
from  the  mother  of  the  monster  he  had  slain,  but  rather,  from 
a  natural  and  laudable  desire  to  complete  bis  task,  followed  the 
monster's  tracks  to  the  mere,  and  finished  him  and  his  mother 
below.  Many  traits  have  survived  which  may  conceivably 
point  to  an  original  version  of  the  story  in  which  Beowulf 
(or  the  figure  corresponding  to  him)  at  once  plunged  down 

^  In  the  Beoumlf  it  was  even  desirable,  as  explained  above,  to  go  further, 
and  completely  to  exculpate  the  Danish  watchers,  t/ 


SECT,  iv]  Parallels  from  Folklore  65 

in  order  to  combat  the  foe  corresponding  to  Grendel.  There 
are  unsatisfactory  features  in  the  story  as  it  stands.  For  why, 
it  might  be  urged,  should  the  wrenching  ofi  of  an  arm  have 
been  fatal  to  so  tough  a  monster?  And  why,  it  has  often  been 
asked,  is  the  adversary  under  the  water  sometimes  male,  some- 
times  female  ?  And  why  is  it  apparently  the  blood  of  Grendel, 
not  of  his  mother,  which  discolours  the  water  and  burns  up  the 
sword,  and  the  head  of  Grendel,  not  of  his  mother,  which  is 
brought  home  in  triumph?  These  arguments  may  not  carry 
much  weight,  but  at  any  rate  when  we  turn  to  the  folk-tale  we 
find  that  the  adventure  beneath  the  earth  is  the  natural 
following  up  of  the  adventure  in  the  house,  not  the  result  of 
any  renewed  attack. 

In  addition,  there  are  many  striking  coincidences  between 
individual  versions  or  groups  of  the  folk-tale  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  Beowulf-Grettir  story  on  the  other:  yet  it  is  very 
difficult  to  know  what  value  should  be  attached  to  these 
parallels,  since  there  are  many  features  of  popular  story 
which  float  around  and  attach  themselves  to  this  or  that  tale 
without  any  original  connection,  so  that  it  is  easy  for  the  same 
trait  to  recur  in  Beowulf  and  in  a  group  of  folk-tales,  without 
this  proving  that  the  stories  as  a  whole  are  connected^. 

The  hero  of  the  Bear's  son  folk-tale  is  often  in  his  youth 
unmanageable  or  lazy.  This  is  also  emphasized  in  the  stories 
both  of  Grettir  and  of  Orm:  and  though  such  a  feature  was 
uncongenial  to  the  courtly  tone  of  Beowulf,  which  sought  to 
depict  the  hero  as  a  model  prince,  yet  it  is  there^,  even  though 
only  alluded  to  incidentally,  and  elsewhere  ignored  or  even 
denied^. 

Again,  the  hero  of  the  folk-tale  is  very  frequently  (but  not 
necessarily)  either  descended  from  a  bear,  nourished  by  a  bear, 
or  has  some  ursine  characteristic.  We  see  this  recurring  in 
certain  traits  of  Beowulf  such  as  his  bear-like  method  of  hugging 

^  From  the  controversial  point  of  view  Panzer  has  no  doubt  weakened  his 
case  by  drawing  attention  to  so  many  of  these,  probably  accidental,  coincidences. 
It  gives  the  critic  material  for  attack  (cf,  Boer,  Beowulf,  14) 

2  U.  2183  etc. 

3  U.  408-9. 

C.  B.  5 


66  Parallels  from  Folklore  [CH.  ii 

his  adversary  to  death.  Here  again  the  courtly  poet  has  not 
emphasized  his  hero's  wildness^. 

Again,  there  are  some  extraordinary  coincidences  in  names, 
between  the  Beowulf-Grettir  story  and  the  folk- tale.  These  are 
not  found  in  Beowulf  itself,  but  only  in  the  stories  of  Grettir 
and  Orm.  Yet,  as  the  Grettir-eipisodG  is  presumably  derived 
from  the  same  original  as  the  Beowulf- eipisode,  any  original 
connection  between  it  and  the  folk- tale  involves  such  connection 
for  Beowulf  also.  We  have  seen  that  in  Grettis  saga  the  priest 
Stein,  as  the  unfaithful  guardian  of  the  rope  which  is  to  draw^ 
up  the  hero,  seems  to  represent  the  faithless  companions  of 
the  folktale.  There  is  really  no  other  way  of  accounting  for 
him,  for  except  on  this  supposition  he  is  quite  otiose  and 
unnecessary  to  the  Grettir-stoij :  the  saga-man  has  no  use  for 
him.  And  his  name  confirms  this  explanation,  for  in  the  folk- 
tale one  of  the  three  faithless  companions  of  the  hero  is  called 
the  Stone-cleaver,  Steinhauer,  Stenhlj>ver,  or  even,  in  one 
Scandinavian  version,  simply  Stein^. 

Again,  the  struggle  in  the  Grettis  saga  is  localized  at  Sand- 
haugar  in  Barthardal  in  Northern  Iceland.  Yet  it  is  difficult 
to  say  why  the  saga-teller  located  the  story  there.  The  scenery, 
with  the  neighbouring  river  and  mighty  waterfall,  is  fully 
described :  but  students  of  Icelandic  topography  assert  that  the 
neighbourhood  does  not  at  all  lend  itself  to  this  description^. 
When  we  turn  to  the  story  of  Orm  we  find  it  locaUzed  on  the 
island  Sandey.  We  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
name  belongs  to  the  story,  and  that  in  some  early  version 
this  was  localized  at  a  place  called  Sandhaug,  perhaps  at  one 
of  the  numerous  places  in  Norway  of  that  name.  Now  turning 
to  one  of  the  Scandinavian  versions  of  the  folk-tale,  we  find 
that  the  descent  into  the  earth  and  the  consequent  struggle  is 
localized  in  en  stor  sandhaug^. 

^  It  comes  out  strongly  in  the  Bjarki-story. 

2  It  can  hardly  be  argued  that  Stein  is  mentioned  because  he  was  an  historic 
character  who  in  some  way  came  into  contact  with  the  historic  Grettir:  for 
in  this  case  his  descent  would  have  been  given,  according  to  the  usual  custom 
in  the  sagas.     (Cf.  note  to  Boer's  edition  of  Grettis  saga,  p.  233.) 

^  P.  E.  K.  Kaalund,  Bidrag  til  en  historisk-topografisk  Beskrivelse  af  Island, 
Kj^benhavn,  1877,  n,  151. 

*  The  locaUzation  in  en  stor  sandhaug  is  found  in  a  version  of  the  story  to 
which  Panzer  was  unable  to  get  access  (see  p.  7  of  his  Beoivulf,  Note  2).   A  copy 


SECT,  iv]  Parallels  from  Folklore  ^  Q7 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that  if  a  collection 
is  made  of  some  two  hundred  folk-tales,  it  is  bound  to  contain, 
in  addition  to  the  essential  kernel  of  common  tradition,  a  vast 
amount  of  that  floating  material  which  tends  to  associate 
itself  with  this  or  that  hero  of  story.  Individual  versions  or 
groups  of  versions  of  the  tale  may  contain  features  which  occur 
also  in  the  Grendel-stoiy,  without  that  being  any  evidence  for 
primitive  connection.  Thus  we  are  told  how  Grendel  forces 
open  the  door  of  Heorot.  In  a  Sicilian  version  of  the  folk-tale 
the  doors  spring  open  of  themselves  as  the  foe  appears.  This 
has  been  claimed  as  a  parallel.  But,  as  a  sceptic  has  observed, 
the  extraordinary  thing  is  that  of  so  slight  a  similarity  (if  it 
is  entitled  to  be  called  a  similarity)  we  should  find  only  one 
example  out  of  two  hundred,  and  have  to  go  to  Sicily  for  that^. 

The  parallel  between  the  Beonmlf-story  and  the  "Bear's  son'* 
folk-tale  had  been  noted  by  Laistner  (Das  Rdtsel  der  Sphinx,  Berlin, 
1889,  n,  22  etc.):  but  the  prevalent  behef  that  the  Beoumlf-storj  was 
a  nature-myth  seems  to  have  prevented  further  investigation  on  these 
Unes  till  Panzer  independently  (p.  254)  undertook  his  monumental 
work. 

Yet  there  are  other  features  in  the  folk-tale  which  are 
entirely  unrepresented  in  the  Beowulf-Grettir  story.  The  hero 
of  the  folk-tale  rescues  captive  princesses  in  the  underworld 
(it  is  because  they  wish  to  rob  him  of  this  prize  that  his  com- 
panions leave  him  below);  he  is  saved  by  some  miraculous 
helper,  and  finally,  after  adopting  a  disguise,  puts  his  treacherous 
comrades  to  shame  and  weds  the  youngest  princess.  None  of 
these  elements^  are  to  be  found  in  the  stories  of  Beowulf, 
Grettir,  Orm  or  Bjarki,  yet  they  are  essential  to  the  fairy  tale^. 

is  to  be  found  in  the  University  Library  of  Christiania,  in  a  small  book  entitled 
Nor,  en  Billedbog  for  den  norske  Ungdom.  Christiania,  1865.  {Norske  Folke- 
Evenly r...fortalte  af  P.  C.  Asbj0rnsen,  pp.  65-128.) 

The  sandhaug  is  an  extraordinary  coincidence,  if  it  is  a  mere  coincidence. 
It  cannot  have  been  imported  into  the  modem  folk-tale  from  the  Orettia  saga, 
for  there  is  no  superficial  resemblance  between  the  two  tales. 

1  Cf.  Boer,  Beowulf,  14. 

2  Yet  both  Beowulf  and  Orm  are  saved  by  divine  help. 

^  Panzer  exaggerates  the  case  against  his  own  theory  when  he  quotes  only 
six  versions  as  omitting  the  princesses  (p.  122).  Such  unanimity  as  this  is 
hardly  to  be  looked  for  in  a  collection  of  202  khidred  folk-tales.  In  addition 
to  these  six,  the  princesses  are  altogether  missing,  for  example,  in  the  versions 
which  Panzer  numbers  68,  69,  77 :  they  are  only  faintly  represented  in  other 
versions  (e.g.  76).  Nevertheless  the  rescue  of  the  princesses  may  be  regarded 
as  the  most  essential  element  in  the  tale. 

6—2 


68  Parallels  from  FolUore  [CH.  ii 

So  that  to  speak  of  Beowulf  as  a  version  of  the  fairy  tale  is 
undoubtedly  going  too  far.  All  we  can  say  is  that  some  early 
story-teller  took,  from  folk-tale,  those  elements  which  suited 
his  purpose,  and  that  a  tale,  containing  many  leading  features 
found  in  the  "Bear's  son"  story,  but  omitting  many  of  the 
leading  motives  of  that  story,  came  to  be  told  of  Beowulf  and 
of  Grettiri. 

Section  V.    Scef  and  Scyld. 

Our  poem  begins  with  an  account  of  the  might,  and  of  the 
funeral,  of  Scyld  Scefing,  the  ancestor  of  that  Danish  royal 
house  which  is  to  play  so  large  a  part  in  the  story.  After 
Scyld's  death  his  retainers,  following  the  command  he  had 
given  them,  placed  their  beloved  prince  in  the  bosom  of  a  ship, 
surrounded  by  many  treasures  brought  from  distant  lands,  by 
weapons  of  battle  and  weeds  of  war,  swords  and  byrnies.  Also 
they  placed  a  golden  banner  high  over  his  head,  and  let  the 
sea  bear  him  away,  with  soul  sorrowful  and  downcast.  Men 
could  not  say  for  a  truth,  not  the  wisest  of  councillors,  who 
received  that  burden. 

Now  there  is  much  in  this  that  can  be  paralleled  both  from 
the  literature  and  from  the  archaeological  remains  of  the  North. 
Abundant  traces  have  been  found,  either  of  the  burial  or  of 
the  burning  of  a  chief  within  a  ship.  And  we  are  told  by 
different  authorities  of  two  ancient  Swedish  kings  who,  sorely 
wounded,  and  unwilling  to  die  in  their  beds,  had  themselves 
placed  upon  ships,  surrounded  by  weapons  and  the  bodies  of 
the  slain.  The  funeral  pyre  was  then  lighted  on  the  vessel,, 
and  the  ship  sent  blazing  out  to  sea.  Similarly  the  dead 
body  of  Baldr  was  put  upon  his  ship,  and  burnt. 

Haki  konungr  fekk  sv^  stor  sar,  at  hann  si,  at  bans  lifdagar  mundu 
eigi  langir  verSa ;  ])k  let  hann  taka  skeiS,  er  hann  atti,  ok  let  hlatJa 
dauSum  mgnnum,  ok  vapnum,  16t  ]>a  flytja  lit  til  hafs  ok  leggja  styri 

^  I  cannot  agree  with  Panzer  when  (p.  319)  he  suggests  the  possibility  of 
the  Beovmlf  and  the  Grettir-story  having  been  derived  independently  from 
the  folk-tale.  For  the  two  stories  have  many  features  in  common  which  do  not 
belong  to  the  folk-tale :  apart  from  the  absence  of  the  princesses  we  have  the 
hspft-mece  and  the  strange  conclusion  drawn  by  the  watchers  from  the  blood- 
stained water. 


SECT,  vj  See/  and  Scyld  69 

i  lag  ok  draga  upp  segl,  en  leggja  eld  i  tyrviS  ok  gera  bal  k  skipinu ; 
veSr  st63  af  landi ;  Haki  var  ])6.  at  kominn  dautJa  eSa  dauSr,  er  hann 
var  lagiSr  4  bdlit;  sigltJi  skipit  siSan  loganda  ut  i  haf,  ok  var  t)etta 
allfrsegt  lengi  sfSan. 

(King  Haki  was  so  sore  wounded  that  he  saw  that  his  days  could 
not  be  long.  Then  he  had  a  warship  of  his  taken,  and  loaded  with 
dead  men  and  weapons,  had  it  carried  out  to  sea,  the  rudder  shipped, 
the  sail  drawn  up,  the  fir-tree  wood  set  alight,  and  a  bale-fire  made 
on  the  ship.  The  wind  blew  from  the  land.  Haki  was  dead  or 
nearly  dead,  when  he  was  placed  on  the  pyre.  Then  the  ship  sailed 
blazing  out  to  sea;  and  that  was  widely  famous  for  a  long  time  after.) 

Ynglinga  Saga,  Kap.  23,  in  Heimskringla,  udg.  af  Finnur  J6nsson, 
K0benhavn,  1893,  vol.  i,  p.  43. 

The  Skjoldunga  Saga  gives  a  story  which  is  obviously  connected 
with  this.  King  Sigurd  Ring  in  his  old  age  asked  in  marriage  the  lady 
Alfsola;  but  her  brothers  scorned  to  give  her  to  an  aged  man.  War 
followed;  and  the  brothers,  knowing  that  they  could  not  withstand 
the  hosts  of  Sigm-d,  poisoned  their  sister  before  marching  against  him. 
In  the  battle  the  brothers  were  slain,  and  Sigurd  badly  wounded. 

Qui,  Alfsola  funere  allato,  magnam  navim  mortuorum  cadaveribus 
oneratam  solus  vivorum  conscendit,  seque  et  mortuam  Alfsolam  in 
puppi  collocans  navim  pice,  bitumine  et  sulphure  incendi  jubet:  atque 
sublatis  velis  in  altum,  validis  a  continente  impellentibus  ventis, 
proram  dirigit,  simulque  manus  sibi  violentas  intuHt;  sesc.more 
majorum  suorum  regali  pompa  Odinum  regem  (id  est  inferos)  invisere 
malle,  quam  inertis  senectutis  infirmitatem  perpeti 

Skjoldungasaga  i  Arngrim  Jonssons  udtog,  udgiven  af  Axel  Olrik, 
Kj0benhavn,  1894,  Cap.  xxvn,  p.  50  [132]. 

So  with  the  death  of  Baldr. 

En  sesirnir  toku  lik  Baldrs  ok  fluttu  til  sasvar.  Hringhorni  het  skip 
Baldrs ;  hann  var  allra  skipa  mestr,  hann  vildu  gotSin  framm  setja  ok 
gera  I^ar  a  balfgr  Baldrs... p4  var  borit  tit  4  skipit  lik  Baldrs,... OSinn 
lagSi  4  b41it  gullhring  ]?ann,  er  Draupnir  heitir...hestr  Baldrs  var  leiddr 
a  b4Ut  meS  qIIu  reiSi. 

(But  the  gods  took  the  body  of  Baldr  and  carried  it  to  the  sea-shore. 
Baldr' s  ship  was  named  Hringhorni:  it  was  the  greatest  of  all  ships 
and  the  gods  sought  to  launch  it,  and  to  build  the  pyre  of  Baldr  on 
it.... Then  was  the  body  of  Baldr  borne  out  on  to  the  ship.... Odin  laid 
on  the  pyre  the  gold  ring  named  Draupnir... and  Baldr's  horse  with 
all  his  trappings  was  placed  on  the  pyre.) 

Snorra  Edda  :  Oylfaginning,  48 ;  udg.  af  Finnur  J6nsson,  K0ben- 
havn,  1900. 

We  are  justified  in  rendering  setja  skip  f ram  by  "launch":  Olrik 
(HeUedigfning,  I,  250)  regards  Baldr's  funeral  as  a  case  of  the  burning 
of  a  body  in  a  ship  on  land.  But  it  seems  to  me,  as  to  Mr  Chadwick 
(Origin,  287),  that  the  natural  meaning  is  that  the  ship  was  launched 
in  the  sea. 

But  the  case  of  Scyld  is  not  exactly  parallel  to  these.     The 
ship  which  conveyed  Scyld  out  to  sea  was  not  set  alight.     And 
the  words  of  the  poet,  though  dark,  seem  to  imply  that  it  was 
intended  to  come  to  land  somewhere:    "None  could  say  who       / 
received  that  freight." 


70  8cef  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

Further,  Scyld  not  merely  departed  over  the  waves — he  had 
in  the  first  instance  come  over  them :  "  Not  with  less  treasure 
did  they  adorn  him,"  says  the  poet,  speaking  of  the  funeral 
rites,  "than  did  those  who  at  the  beginning  sent  him  forth 
alone  over  the  waves,  being  yet  a  child." 

Scyld  Scefing  then,  like  Tennyson's  Arthur,  comes  from  the 
unknown  and  departs  back  to  it. 

The  story  of  the  mysterious  coming  over  the  water  was  not 
confined  to  Scyld.  It  meets  us  in  connection  with  King  Scef, 
who  was  regarded,  at  any  rate  from  the  time  of  Alfred,  and 
possibly  much  earlier,  as  the  remotest  ancestor  of  the  Wessex 
\  kings.  Ethelwerd,  a  member  of  the  West  Saxon  royal  house, 
who  compiled  a  bombastic  Latin  chronicle  towards  the  end  of 
the  tenth  century,  traces  back  the  pedigree  of  the  kings  of 
Wessex  to  Scyld  and  his  father  Scef.  "  This  Scef,"  he  says, 
"  came  to  land  on  a  swift  boat,  surrounded  by  arms,  in  an  island 
of  the  ocean  called  Scani,  when  a  very  young  child.  He  was 
unknown  to  the  people  of  that  land,  but  was  adopted  by  them 
as  if  of  their  kin,  well  cared  for,  and  afterwards  elected  king^." 
Note  here,  firstly,  that  the  story  is  told,  not  of  Scyld  Scefing, 
but  of  Scef,  father  of  Scyld.  Secondly,  that  although  Ethelwerd 
is  speaking  of  the  ancestor  of  the  West  Saxon  royal  house,  he 
makes  him  come  to  land  and  rule,  not  in  the  ancient  homeland 
of  continental  Angeln,  but  in  the  "island  of  Scani,"  which 
signifies  what  is  now  the  south  of  Sweden,  and  perhaps  also 
the  Danish  islands^ — that  same  land  of  Scedenig  which  is  men- 
tioned in  Beowulf  as  the  realm  of  Scyld.  The  tone  of  the 
^narrative  is,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  Ethelwerd's  dry 
summary,  entirely  warHke :    Scef  is  surrounded  by  weapons. 

In  the  twelfth  century  the  story  is  again  told  by  William 
of  Malmesbury .  "  Sceldius  was  the  son  of  Sceaf .  He,  they  say, 
was  carried  as  a  small  boy  in  a  boat  without  any  oarsman  to 
a   certain  isle  of  Germany  called  Scandza,  concerning  which 

1  Ipse  Scef  cum  uno  dromone  advectus  est  in  insula  Oceani,  quae  dicitur 
Scani,  armis  circundatus,  eratque  valde  recens  puer,  &  ab  mcolis  illius  terrae 
ignotus;  attamen  ab  eis  suscipitur,  &  ut  familiarem  diligenti  animo  eum 
custodierunt,  &  post  in  regem  eligunt. 

Ethelwerdus,  in,  3,  in  Savile's  Rerum  Anglicarum  Scriptores  post  Bedarrif 
Francofurti,  1601,  p.  842. 

a  See  Chadwick,  Origin,  259-60 


SECT,  v]  Scef  and  Scyld  71 

Jordanes,  the  liistorian  of  the  Goths,  speaks.  He  was  sleeping, 
and  a  handful  of  corn  was  placed  at  his  head,  from  which  he 
was  called  *  Sheaf.'  He  was  regarded  as  a  wonder  by  the  folk 
of  that  country  and  carefully  nurtured;  when  grown  up  he 
ruled  in  a  town  then  called  Slaswic,  and  now  Haithebi — that 
region  is  called  ancient  Angha^." 

William  of  Malmesbury  was,  of  course,  aware  of  Ethelwerd's 
account,  and  may  have  been  influenced  by  it.  Some  of  his 
variations  may  be  his  own  invention.  The  substitution  of  the 
classical  form  Scandza  for  Ethelwerd's  Scani  is  simply  a  change 
from  popular  to  learned  nomenclature,  and  enables  the  historian 
to  show  that  he  has  read  something  of  Jordanes.  The  altera- 
tion by  which  Malmesbury  makes  Sceaf,  when  grown  up, 
rule  at  Schleswig  in  ancient  Angel,  may  again  be  his  own  work 
— a  variant  added  in  order  to  make  Sceaf  look  more  at  home 
in  an  Anglo-Saxon  pedigree. 

But  WilUam  of  Malmesbury  was,  as  we  shall  see  later, 
prone  to  incorporate  current  ballads  into  his  history,  and 
after  allowing  for  what  he  may  have  derived  from  Ethelwerd, 
and  what  he  may  have  invented,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
many  of  the  additional  details  which  he  gives  are  genuine 
popular  poetry.  Indeed,  whilst  the  story  of  Scyld's  funeral 
is  very  impressive  in  Beowulf,  it  is  in  WilHam's  narrative  that 
the  story  of  the  child  coming  over  the  sea  first  becomes  poetic. 

Now  since  even  the  English  historians  connected  this  tale 
with  the  Danish  territory  of  Scani,  Scandza,  we  should  expect 
to  find  it  again  on  turning  to  the  records  of  the  Danish  royal 
house.  And  we  do  find  there,  generally  at  the  head  of  the 
pedigree^,  a  hero — Skjold — whose  name  corresponds,  and  whose 
relationship  to  the  later  Danish  kings  shows  him  to  be  the  same 
as  the  Scyld  Scefing  of  Beowulf.  But  neither  Saxo  Gram- 
maticus,  nor  any  other  Danish  historian,  knows  anything  of 

^  Sceldius  [fuit  films]  Sceaf.  Iste,  ut  ferunt,  in  quandam  insulam  Germaniae 
Scandzam,  de  qua  Jordanes,  historiographus  Gothorum,  loquitur,  appulsua  navi 
sine  remige,  puerulus,  posito  ad  caput  frumenti  manipulo,  dormiens,  ideoque 
Sceaf  nuncupatus,  ab  hominibus  regionis  illius  pro  miraculo  exceptus  et  sedulo 
nutritus:  adulta  aetate  regnavit  in  oppido  quod  tunc  Slaswic,  nunc  vero 
Haithebi  appellatur.     Est  autem  regio  ilia  Anglia  vetus  dicta.... 

William  of  Malmesbury,  De  Oestis  Regum  Anglorum.  Lib.  ii,  §  116,  vol.  i, 
p.  121,  ed.  Stubbs,  1887. 

2  Although  Saxo  Grammaticus  has  provided  some  even  earUer  kings. 


72  Scef  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

Skjold  having  come  in  his  youth  or  returned  in  his  death  over 
the  ocean. 

How  are  we  to  harmonize  these  accounts? 

Beowulf  and  Ethelwerd  agree  in  representing  the  hero  as 
"  surrounded  by  arms  "  ;  Wilham  of  Malmesbury  mentions  only 
the  sheaf ;  the  difference  is  weighty,  for  presumably  the  spoils 
which  the  hero  brings  with  him  from  the  unknown,  or  takes 
back  thither,  are  in  harmony  with  his  career.  Beowulf  and 
Ethelwerd  seem  to  show  the  warrior  king,  William  of  Malmes- 
bury seems  rather  to  be  telling  the  story  of  a  semi-divine 
foundhng,  who  introduces  the  tillage  of  the  earth^. 

In  Beowulf  the  child  is  Scyld  Scefing,  in  Ethelwerd  and 
William  of  Malmesbury  he  is  Sceaf,  father  of  Scyld. 

Beowulf,  Ethelwerd  and  Wilham  of  Malmesbury  agree  in 
connecting  the  story  with  Scedenig,  Scant  or  Scandza,  yet  the 
two  historians  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  all  make  Sceaf 
the  ancestor  of  the  West  Saxon  house.  Yet  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  Enghsh  were  regarded  as  having  come  from 
Scandinavia. 

The  last  problem  admits  of  easy  solution.  In  heathen 
times  the  English  traced  the  pedigree  of  most  of  their  kings 
to  Woden,  and  stopped  there.  For  higher  than  that  they 
could  not  go.  But  a  Christian  poet  or  genealogist,  who  had 
no  belief  in  Woden  as  a  god,  would  regard  the  All  Father  as 
a  man — a  mere  man  who,  by  magic  powers,  had  made  the 
heathen  believe  he  was  a  god.  To  such  a  Christian  pedigree- 
maker  Woden  would  convey  no  idea  of  finality;  he  would 
feel  no  difficulty  in  giving  this  human  Woden  any  number  of 
ancestors.  Wishing  to  glorify  the  pedigree  of  his  king,  he 
would  add  any  other  distinguished  and  authentic  genealogies, 
and  the  obvious  place  for  these  would  be  at  the  end  of  the  Hue, 
i.e.,  above  Woden.  Hence  we  have  in  some  quite  early  (not 
West  Saxon)  pedigrees,  five  names  given  as  ancestors  of  Woden. 
These  five  names  end  in  Geat  or  Geata,  who  was  apparently 
regarded  as  a  god,  and  was  possibly  Woden  under  another 
name^.     Somewhat  later,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  under 


1  Cf.  MuUenhoff  in  Z.f.d.A.  vii,  413. 

2  In  Orimnismdl,  54,  Odin  gives  Oautr  as  one  of  his  names. 


4 


SECT,  v]  Scef  and  Scyld  73 

the  year  855,  we  have  a  long  version  of  the  West  Saxon  pedigree 
with  yet  nine  further  names  above  Geat,  ending  in  Sceaf. 
Sceaf  is  described  as  a  son  of  Noah,  and  so  the  pedigree  is 
carried  back  to  Adam,  25  generations  in  all  beyond  Woden^. 
But  it  is  rash  to  assume  with  Miillenhoff  that,  because  Sceaf 
comes  at  the  head^  of  this  English  pedigree,  Sceaf  was  therefore 
essentially  an  Enghsh  hero.  All  these  later  stages  above 
Woden  look  like  the  ornate  additions  of  a  later  compiler. 
Some  of  the  figures,  Finn,  Sceldwa,  Heremod,  Sceaf  himself, 
we  have  reason  to  identify  with  the  primitive  heroes  of  other 
nations. 

The  genealogist  who  finally  made  Sceaf  into  a  son  born  to 
Noah  in  the  ark,  and  then  carried  the  pedigree  nine  stages 
further  back  through  Noah  to  Adam,  merely  made  the  last  of 
a  series  of  accretions.  It  does  not  follow  that,  because  he  made 
them  ancestors  of  the  English  king,  this  compiler  regarded 
Noah,  Enoch  and  Adam  as  Enghshmen.  Neither  need  he 
have  so  regarded  Sceaf  or  Scyld  ^  or  Beaw.  In  fact — and  this 
has  constantly  been  overlooked — the  authority  for  Sceaf,  Scyld 
and  Beaw  as  Anglo-Saxon  heroes  is  but  little  stronger  than  the 
authority  for  Noah  and  Adam  in  that  capacity.  No  manuscript 
exists  which  stops  at  Scyld  or  Sceaf.  There  is  no  version 
which  goes  beyond  Geat  except  that  which  goes  up  to  Adam. 
Scyld,  Beaw,  Sceaf,  Noah  and  Adam  as  heroes  of  English 
mythology  are  all  aHke  doubtful. 

We  must  be  careful,  however,  to  define  what  we  mean  when 
we  regard  these  stages  of  the  pedigree  as  doubtful.  They 
are  doubtful  in  ^o  far  as  they  are  represented  as  standing 
above  Woden  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  pedigree,  because  it  is  in- 
credible that,  in  primitive  and  heathen  times,  Woden  was 
credited  with  a  dozen  or  more  forefathers.  The  position  of 
these  names  in  the  pedigree  is  therefore  doubtful.  But  it  is 
only  their  connection  with  the  West  Saxon  house  that  is  un- 
authentic. It  does  not  follow  that  the  names  are,  fer  se, 
unauthentic.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  because  the  genealogist 
had  such  implicit  belief  in  the  authenticity  of  the  generations 

^  See  below.  2  Excluding,  of  course,  the  Hebrew  names. 

*  Scyld  appears    as    Scyldwa,   Sce{a)ldwa    in    the   Chronicle.     The   forms 
correspond. 


74  Scef  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

from  Noali  to  Adam  that  he  could  not  rest  satisfied  with  his 
West  Saxon  pedigree  till  he  had  incorporated  thfese  names. 
They  are  not  West  Saxon,  but  they  are  part  of  a  tradition 
much  more  ancient  than  any  pedigree  of  the  West  Saxon  kings. 
And  the  argument  which  applies  to  the  layer  of  Hebrew  names 
between  Noah  and  Adam  applies  equally  to  the  layer  of  Ger- 
manic names  between  Woden  and  Sceaf.  From  whatever 
branch  of  the  Germanic  race  the  genealogist  may  have  taken 
them,  the  fact  that  he  placed  them  where  he  did  in  the  pedigree 
is  a  proof  of  his  veneration  for  them.  But  we  must  not  without 
evidence  claim  them  as  West  Saxon  or  Anglo-Saxon :  we  must 
not  be  surprised  if  evidence  points  to  some  of  them  being  con- 
nected with  other  nations — as  Heremod,  for  example,  with  the 
Danes^. 

More  difficult  are  the  other  problems.  William  of  Malmes- 
bury  tells  the  story  of  Sceaf,  with  the  attributes  of  a  culture- 
hero  :  Beowulf,  four  centuries  earlier,  tells  it  of  Scyld,  a  warrior 
hero:  Ethelwerd  tells  it  of  Sceaf,  but  gives  him  the  warrior 
attributes  of  Scyld^  instead  of  the  sheaf  of  corn. 

The  earlier  scholars  mostly  agreed^  in  regarding  Malmes- 
bury's  attribution  of  the  story  to  Sceaf  as  the  original  and 
correct  version  of  the  story,  in  spite  of  its  late  date.  As  a 
representative  of  these  early  scholars  we  may  take  Miillenhoff*. 
MiillenhofE's  love  of  mythological  interpretation  found  ample 
scope  in  the  story  of  the  child  with  the  sheaf,  which  he,  with 
considerable  reason,  regarded  as  a  "  culture-myth."  Miillenhoff 
beUeved  the  carrying  over  of  the  attributes  of  a  god  to  a  line  of 
his  supposed  descendants  to  be  a  common  feature  of  myth — 
the  descendants  representing  the  god  under  another  name.  In 
accordance  with  this  view,  Scyld  could  be  explained  as  an 
"hypostasis"  of  his  father  or  forefather  Sceaf,  as  a  figure 
further  explaining  him  and  representing  him,  so  that  in  the 
end  the  tale  of  the  boat  arrival  came  to  be  told,  in  Beowulf, 
of  Scyld  instead  of  Sceaf. 


^  See  Part  II.  ^  armis  circundatus.  ^ 

3  For  a  list  of  the  scholars  who  have  dealt  with  the  subject,  see  Widsith 
p.  119. 

*  Beovulf,  p.  Q  etc. 


* 


SECT,  v]  Seef  and  Scijld  7o 

Kecent  years  have  seen  a  revolt  against  most  of  Miillenhoiffi's 
theories.  The  view  that  the  story  originally  belonged  to  Sceaf 
has  come  to  be  regarded  with  a  certain  amount  of  impatience 
as  "out  of  date."  Even  so  fine  a  scholar  as  Dr  Lawrence  has 
expressed  this  impatience : 

"That  the  graceful  story  of  the  boy  sailing  in  an  open  boat  to  the 
land  of  his  future  people  was  told  originally  of  Sceaf. .  .needs  no  detailed 
refutation  at  the  present  day. 

"The  attachment  of  the  motive  to  Sceaf  must  be,  as  an  examination 
of  the  sources  shows,  a  later  development^." 

Accordingly  the  view  of  recent  scholars  has  been  this: 
That  the  story  belongs  essentially  to  Scyld.  That,  as  the  hero 
of  the  boat  story  is  obviously  of  unknown  parentage,  we  must 
interpret  Scefing  not  as  "son  of  Sceaf"  but  as  "with  the  sheaf" 
(in  itself  a  quite  possible  explanation).  That  this  stage  of  the 
story  is  preserved  in  Beowulf.  That  subsequently  Scyld 
Scefing,  standing  at  the  head  of  the  pedigree,  came  to  be  mis- 
understood as  "Scyld,  son  of  Sceaf."  That  consequently  the 
story,  which  must  be  told  of  the  earlier  ancestor,  was  thus 
transferred  from  Scyld  to  his  supposed  father  Sceaf — the 
version  which  is  found  in  Ethelwerd  and  William  of  Malmesbury. 

One  apparent  advantage  of  this  theory  is  that  the  oldest 
version,  that  of  Beowulf,  is  accepted  as  the  correct  and  original 
one,  and  the  much  later  versions  of  the  historians  Ethelwerd 
and  William  of  Malmesbury  are  regarded  as  subsequent  cor- 
ruptions. This  on  the  surface  seems  eminently  reasonable. 
But  let  us  look  closer.  Scyld  Scefing  in  Beowulf  is  to  be  in- 
terpreted ''Scyld  with  the  Sheaf."  But  Beowulf  nowhere 
mentions  the  sheaf  as  part  of  Scyld's  equipment.  On  the 
contrary,  we  gather  that  the  hero  is  connected  rather  with 
prowess  in  war.  It  is  the  same  in  Ethelwerd.  It  is  not  till 
WiUiam  of  Malmesbury  that  the  sheaf  comes  into  the  story. 
So  that  the  interpretation  of  Scefing  as  "with  the  sheaf" 
assumes  the  accuracy  of  William  of  Malmesbury's  story  even  in 
a  point  where  it  receives  no  support  from  the  Beowulf  version. 
In  other  words  this  theory  does  the  very  thing  to  avoid  doing 
which  it  was  called  into  being^, 

^  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  259  etc. 

^  This  objection  to  the  Scyld-theory  has  been  excellently  expressed  by  Olrik 
— at  a  time,  too,  when  Olrik  himself  accepted  the  story  as  belonging  to  Scyld 


76  See/  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

Besides  this,  there  are  two  fundamental  objections  to  the 
theory  that  Sceaf  is  a  late  creation,  a  figure  formed  from  the 
misunderstanding  of  the  epithet  Scefing  applied  to  Scyld, 
One  portion  of  the  poem  of  Widsith  consists  of  a  catalogue  of 
ancient  kings,  and  among  these  occurs  Sceaf  a,  ruling  the  Lango- 
bards.  Now  portions  of  Widsith  are  very  ancient,  and  this 
catalogue  in  which  Sceafa  occurs  is  almost  certainly  appreciably 
older  than  Beowulf  itself. 

Secondly,  the  story  of  the  wonderful  foundling  who  comes 
over  the  sea  from  the  unknown  and  founds  a  royal  line,  must 
ex  hypothesi  be  told  of  the  first  in  the  line,  and  we  have  seen 
that  it  is  Sceaf,  not  Scyld,  who  comes  at  the  head  of  the 
Teutonic  names  in  the  genealogy  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 

Now  we  can  date  this  genealogy  fairly  exactly.  It  occurs 
under  the  year  855,  and  seems  to  have  been  drawn  up  at  the 
court  of  King  ^Ethelwulf .  In  any  case  it  cannot  be  later  than  the 
latter  part  of  Alfred's  reign.  This  takes  us  back  to  a  period  when 
the  old  English  epic  was  still  widely  popular.  A  genealogist  at 
Alfred's  court  must  have  known  much  about  Old  English  story . 

These  facts  are  simply  not  consistent  with  the  belief  that 
Sceaf  is  a  late  creation,  a  figure  formed  from  a  misunderstanding 
of  the  epithet  Scefing,  applied  to  Scyld^. 

rather  than  Sceaf.  "Binz,"  says  Olrik,  "rejects  William  of  Malmesbury  as 
a  source  for  the  Scyld  story.  But  he  has  not  noticed  that  in  doing  so  he  saws 
across  the  branch  upon  which  he  himself  and  the  other  investigators  are  sitting. 
For  if  William  is  not  a  reliable  authority,  and  even  a  more  reliable  authority 
than  the  others,  then  'Scyld  with  the  sheaf  is  left  in  the  air."  Heltedigtning, 
I,  238-9,  note. 

^  The  discussion  of  Skjold  by  Olrik  {Danmarks  Heltedigtning,  i,  223-271) 
is  perhaps  the  most  helpful  of  any  yet  made,  especially  in  emphasizing  the 
necessity  of  differentiating  the  stages  in  the  story.  But  it  must  be  taken  in 
connection  with  the  very  essential  modifications  made  by  Dr  Olrik  in  his  second 
volume  (pp.  249-65,  especially  pp.  264-5).  Dr  Olrik's  earlier  interpretation 
made  Scyld  the  original  hero  of  the  story :  Scefing  Olrik  interpreted,  not  as 
"with  the  sheaf,"  but  as  "son  of  Scef."  To  the  objection  that  any  knowledge 
of  Scyld' s  parentage  would  be  inconsistent  with  his  unknown  origin,  Olrik 
replied  by  supposing  that  Scyld  was  a  foundling  whose  origin,  though  unknown 
to  the  people  of  the  land  to  which  he  came,  was  well  known  to  the  poet.  The 
poet,  Dr  Olrik  thought,  regarded  him  as  a  son  of  the  fcangobardic  king,  Sceafa, 
a  connection  which  we  are  to  attribute  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  love  of  framing 
genealogies.  But  this  explanation  of  Scyld  Scefing  as  a  human  foundling  doei 
not  seem  to  me  to  be  borne  out  by  the  text  of  Beowulf.  "The  child  is  a  pool 
foundling,"  says  Dr  Olrik,  "Ae  suffered  distress  from  the  time  lohen  he  was  firs 
found  as  a  helpless  child.  Only  as  a  grown  man  did  he  get  compensation  foi 
his  childhood's  adversity"  (p.  228).  But  this  is  certainly  not  the  meaning  o: 
egsode  eorl[as].     It  is  ''He  inspired  the  earl[s]  with  awe." 


SECT,  v]  Scef  and  Scyld  77 

To  arrive  at  any  definite  conclusion  is  difficult.  But  the 
following  may  be  hazarded. 

It  may  be  taken  as  proved  that  the  Scyld  or  Sceldwa  of  the 
genealogists  is  identical  with  the  Scyld  Scefing  of  Beowulf. 
For  Sceldwa  according  to  the  genealogy  is  also  ultimately 
a  Sceafing,  and  is  the  father  of  Beow ;  Scyld  is  Scefing  and  is 
father  of  Beowulf^. 

It  is  equally  clear  that  the  Scyld  Scefing  of  Beowulf  is 
identical  with  the  Skjold  of  the  Danish  genealogists  and 
historians.  For  Scyld  and  Skjold  are  both  represented  as  the 
founder  and  head  of  the  Danish  royal  house  of  Scyldingas 
or  Skjoldungar,  and  as  reigning  in  the  same  district.  Here, 
however,  the  resemblance  ceases.  Beowulf  tells  us  of  Scyld's 
marvellous  coming  and  departure.  The  only  Danish  authority 
who  tells  us  much  of  Skjold  is  Saxo  Grammaticus,  who  records 
how  as  a  boy  Skjold  wrestled  successfully  with  a  bear  and  over- 
came champions,  and  how  later  he  annulled  unrighteous  laws, 
and  distinguished  himself  by  generosity  to  his  court.  But  the 
Danish  and  EngKsh  accounts  have  nothing  specifically  in 
common,  though  the  type  they  portray  is  the  same — that  of 
a  king  from  his  youth  beloved  by  his  retainers  and  feared  by 
neighbouring  peoples,  whom  he  subdues  and  makes  tributary. 
It  looks  rather  as  if  the  oldest  traditions  had  had  little  to  say 
about  this  hero  beyond  the  typical  things  which  might  be  said 
of  any  great  king ;  so  that  Danes  and  English  had  each  supplied 
the  deficiency  in  their  own  way. 

Now  this  is  exactly  what  we  should  expect.  For  Scyld-  I 
Skjold  is  hardly  a  personality:  he  is  a  figure  evolved  out  of 
the  name  Scyldingas,  Skjoldungar,  which  is  an  old  epic  title  for 
the  Danes.  Of  this  we  may  be  fairly  certain :  the  Scyldingas 
did  not  get  their  name  because  they  were  really  descended 
from  Scyld,  but  Scyld  was  created  in  order  to  provide  an 
eponymous  father  to  the  Scyldingas^.     In  just  the  same  way 

^  See  below  (App.  C)  for  instances  of  ancestral  names  extant  both  in  weak 
and  strong  forms,  like  Scyld,  Sceldwa  (the  identity  of  which  no  one  doubts)  or 
Sceaf,  Sceaja  (the  identity  of  which  has  been  doubted). 

^  "As  for  the  name  Scyldungas-Skjoldungar,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  believe 
that  this  originally  meant  'the  people'  or  'Mnsmen  of  the  shield.'  Similar 
appellations  are  not   uncommon,   e.g.,   Rondingas,   Helmingas,   Brondingas... 


78  Beef  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

tradition  also  evolved  a  hero  Dan,  from  whom  the  Danes  were 
supposed  to  have  their  name.  Saxo  Grammaticus  has  com- 
bined both  pedigrees,  making  Skjold  a  descendant  of  Dan; 
but  usually  it  was  agreed  that  nothing  came  before  Skjold, 
that  he  was  the  beginning  of  the  Skjoldung  line^.  At  first  a 
mere  name,  we  should  expect  that  he  would  have  no  character- 
istic save  that,  like  every  respectable  Germanic  king,  he  took 
tribute  from  his  foes  and  gave  it  to  his  friends.  He  differs 
therefore  from  those  heroic  figures  like  Hygelac  or  Guthhere 
(Gunnar)  which,  being  derived  from  actual  historic  characters, 
have,  from  the  beginning  of  their  story,  certain  definite  features 
attached  to  them.  Scyld  is,  in  the  beginning,  merely  a  name, 
the  ancestor  of  the  Scyldings.  Tradition  collects  round  him 
gradually. 

Hence  it  will  be  rash  to  attach  much  weight  to  any  feature 
which  is  found  in  one  account  of  him  only.  Anything  we  are 
V)ld  of  Scyld  in  English  sources  alone  is  not  to  be  construed  as 
evidence  as  to  his  original  story,  but  only  as  to  the  form  that 
story  assumed  in  England.  When,  for  example,  Beoivulf  tells 
us  that  Scyld  is  Scefing,  or  that  he  is  father  of  Beowulf,  it  will 
be  very  rash  of  us  to  assume  that  these  relationships  existed  in 
the  Danish,  but  have  been  forgotten.  This  is,  I  think,  univer- 
sally admitted^.  Yet  the  very  scholars  who  emphasize  this, 
have  assumed  that  the  marvellous  arrival  as  a  child,  in  a  boat, 
surrounded  by  weapons,  is  an  essential  feature  of  Scyld's  story. 
Yet  the  evidence  for  this  is  no  better  and  no  worse  than  the 
evidence  for  his  relationship  to  Sceaf  or  Beow — it  rests  solely 
on  the  English  documents.  Accordingly  it  only  shows  what  was 
told  about  Scyld  in  England. 

Of  course  the  boat  arrival  might  be  an  original  part  of  the 
story  of  Scyld-SJcjold,  which  has  been  forgotten  in  his  native 


probably  these  names  meant  either  'the  people  of  the  shield,  the  helmet,'  etc., 
or  else  the  people  who  used  shields,  helmets,  etc.,  in  some  special  way.  In  the 
former  case  we  may  compare  the  Ancile  of  the  Romans  and  the  Palladion  of 
the  Greeks;  in  either  case  we  may  note  that  occasionally  shields  have  been 
fomid  in  the  North  which  can  never  have  been  used  except  for  ceremonial] 
purposes."     Chad  wick,  Origin,  p.  284:    cf.  Olrik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  274. 

^  Sweyn   Aageson,   Shiold  Danis  primum  didici  praefuisse,  in  Langebek, 
8.B.D.  I,  44. 

2  Olrik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  246;  Lawrence,  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  xxiv,  254. 


SECT,  v]  Beef  and  Scyld  79 

country,  but  remembered  in  England.     But  I  cannot  see  that 
we  have  any  right  to  assert  this,  without  proof. 

What  we  can  assert  to  have  been  the  original  feature  of 
Scyld  is  this — that  he  was  the  eponymous  hero  king  of  the 
Danes.  Both  Beowulf  and  the  Scandinavian  authorities  agree 
upon  that.  The  fact  that  his  name  (in  the  form  Sceldwa)  appears 
in  the  genealogy  of  the  kings  of  Wessex  is  not  evidence  against 
a  Danish  origin.  The  name  appears  in  close  connection  with 
that  of  Heremod,  another  Danish  king,  and  is  merely  evidence 
of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  genealogist  of  the  Wessex  kings 
to  connect  his  royal  house  with  the  most  distinguished  family 
he  knew :  that  of  the  Scyldingas,  about  whom  so  much  is  said 
in  the  prologue  to  Beowulf. 

Neither  do  the  instances  of  place-names  in  England,  such 
as  Scyldes  treow,  Scildes  well,  prove  Scyld  to  have  been  an 
English  hero.  They  merely  prove  him  to  have  been  a  hero  I 
who  was  celebrated  in  England — which  the  Prologue  to  Beowulf 
alone  is  sufficient  to  show  to  have  been  the  case.  For  place- 
names  commemorating  heroes  of  alien  tribes  are  common 
enough^  on  English  ground. 

So  much  at  least  is  gained.  Whatever  Miillenhoff^  and  his 
followers  constructed  upon  the  assumption  that  Scyld  was  an 
essentially  Anglo-Saxon  hero  goes  overboard.  Scyld  is  the 
ancestor  king  of  the  Danish  house — more  than  this  we  can 
hardly  with  safety  assert. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  figure  of  Sceaf.  This  was  not 
necessarily  connected  with  Scyld  from  the  first. 

The  story  of  Sceaf  first  meets  us  in  its  completeness  in  the 
pages  of  William  of  Malmesbury.  And  William  of  Malmesbury 
is  a  twelfth  century  authority;  by  his  time  the  Old  English 
courtly  epics  had  died  out — for  they  could  not  have  long 
survived  the  Norman  Conquest  and  the  overthrow  of  Old 
Enghsh  court  life.     But  the  popular  tradition^  remained,  and 

^  It  is  odd  that  Binz,  who  has  recorded  so  many  of  these,  should  have 
argued  on  the  strength  of  these  place-names  that  the  Scyld  story  is  not  Danish, 
but  an  ancient  possession  of  the  tribes  of  the  North  Sea  coast  (p.  150).  For 
Binz  also  records  an  immense  number  of  names  of  heroes  of  alien  stock — 
Danish,  Gothic  or  Burgundian — as  occurring  in  England  {P.B.B.  xx,  202  etc.). 

2  Beovulf,  p.  7.  '  Chad  wick.  Origin,  p.  278, 


80  Scef  and  Scyld  [CH.  ii 

a  good  many  of  the  old  stories,  banished  from  the  hall,  must 
have  lingered  on  at  the  cross-roads — tales  of  Wade  and  Wey- 
land,  of  Offa  and  Sceaf.  For  songs,  sung  by  minstrels  at  the 
cross  roads,  William  of  Malmesbury  is  good  evidence,  and  he 
owns  to  having  drawn  information  from  similar  popular 
sources^.  William's  story,  then,  is  evidence  that  in  his  own 
day  there  was  a  tradition  of  a  mythical  king  Sheaf  who  came 
as  a  child  sleeping  in  a  ship  with  a  sheaf  of  corn  at  his  head. 
How  old  this  tradition  may  be,  we  cannot  say.  Ethelwerd 
knew  the  story,  though  he  has  nothing  to  say  of  the  sheaf. 
But  we  have  seen  that  when  we  get  back  to  the  ninth  century, 
and  the  formation  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  at  a  court 
where  we  may  be  sure  the  old  English  heroic  stories  were  still 
popular,  it  is  Sceaf  and  not  Sceldwa  who  is  regarded  as  the 
beginning  of  things — the  king  whose  origin  is  so  remote  that 
he  is  the  oldest  Germanic  ancestor  one  can  get  back  to^ :  "  he 
was  born  in  Noah's  ark." 

Whether  or  no  Noah's  ark  was  chosen  as  Sceaf 's  birthplace 
because  legend  represented  him  as  coming  in  a  boat  over  the 
water,  we  cannot  tell.  But  the  place  he  occupies,  with  only 
the  Biblical  names  before  him,  as  compared  with  Sceldwa  the 
son  of  Heremod,  clearly  marks  Sceaf  rather  than  Sceldwa  as 
the  hero  who  comes  from  the  unknown.  Turning  now  to  the 
catalogue  of  kings  in  Widsith,  probably  the  oldest  extant  piece 
of  Anglo-Saxon  verse,  some  generations  more  ancient  than 
Beowulf,  we  find  a  King  Sceafa,  who  ruled  over  the  Langobards. 
Finally,  in  Beowulf  itself,  although  the  story  is  told  of  Scyld, 
nevertheless  this  Scyld  is  characterized  as  Scefing.  If  this 
means  "  with  the  sheaf,"  then  the  Beowulf-stoiy  stands  convicted 
of  imperfection,  of  needing  explanation  outside  itself  from  the 

1  The  scandals  about  King  Edgar  {infamias  quas  post  dicam  magis  resper- 
serunt  cantilenae :  see  Gesta  Regum  Anglorum,  n,  §  148,  ed.  Stubbs,  vol.  i,  p.  165)  ; 
the  story  of  Gimhilda,  the  daughter  of  Knut,  who,  married  to  a  foreign  King 
with  great  pomp  and  rejoicing,  nostro  seculo  etiam  in  triviis  cantitaia,  was  im- 
justly  suspected  of  unchastity  till  her  English  page,  in  vindication  of  her  honour, 
slew  the  giant  whom  her  accusers  had  brought  forward  as  their  champion 
{Gesta.,  n,  §188,  ed.  Stubbs,  i,  pp.  229,  230);  the  story  of  King  Edward  and 
the  shepherdess,  learnt  from  cantilenis  per  successiones  temporum  detritis 
{Gesta,  II,  §  138,  ed.  Stubbs,  i,  155).  Macaulay  in  the  Lays  of  Ancient  Borne 
has  selected  William  as  a  typical  example  of  the  historian  whb  draws  upon 
popular  song.     Cf.  Freeman's  Historical  Essays. 

2  Okik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  246. 


SECT,  v]  Scef  and  Scyld  81 

account  which  William  of  Malmesbury  wrote  four  centuries 
later.  If  it  means  "  son  of  Sceaf,"  why  should  a  father  be  given 
to  Scyld,  when  the  story  demands  that  he  should  come  from 
the  unknown?  Was  it  because,  if  the  boat  story  was  to  be 
attributed  to  Scyld,  it  was  felt  that  this  could  only  be  made 
plausible  by  giving  him  some  relation  to  Sceaf? 

When  we  find  an  ancient  king  bearing  the  extraordinary 
name  of  "Sheaf,"  it  is  difficult  not  to  connect  this  with  the 
honour  done  to  the  sheaf  of  corn,  survivals  of  which  have  been 
found  in  different  parts  of  England.  In  Herrick's  time,  the 
sheaves  of  corn  were  still  kissed  as  they  were  carried  home  on 
the  Hock-cart,  whilst 

Some,  with  great 
Devotion,  stroke  the  home-borne  wlieat. 

Professor  Chadwick  argues,  on  the  analogy  of  Prussian  and 
Bulgarian  harvest  customs,  that  the  figure  of  the  "Harvest 
Queen"  in  the  English  ceremony  is  derived  from  a  corn  figure 
made  from  the  last  sheaf,  and  that  the  sheaf  was  once  regarded 
as  a  religious  symbol^.  But  the  evidence  for  this  is  surely 
even  stronger  than  would  be  gathered  from  Professor  Chadwick's 
very  cautious  statement.  I  suppose  there  is  hardly  a  county 
in  England  from  Kent  to  Cornwall  and  from  Kent  to  North- 
umberland, where  there  is  not  evidence  for  honour  paid  to  the 
last  sheaf — an  honour  which  cannot  be  accounted  for  as  merely 
expressing  the  joy  of  the  reapers  at  having  got  to  the  end  of 
their  task.  In  Kent  "a  figure  composed  of  some  of  the  best 
com"  was  made  into  a  human  shape:  "this  is  afterwards 
curiously  dressed  by  the  women,  and  adorned  with  paper 
trimmings  cut  to  resemble  a  cap,  ruffles,  handkerchief,  etc.,  of 
the  finest  lace.  It  is  brought  home  with  the  last  load  of  corn^." 
In  Northumberland  and  Durham  a  sheaf  known  as  the  "Kern 
baby"  was  made  into  the  likeness  of  a  human  figure,  decked 
out  and  brought  home  in  triumph  with  dancing  and  singing^. 
But  the  most  striking  form  of  the  sheaf  ceremony  is  found 
in  the  honour  done  to  the  "  Neck  "  in  the  West  of  England. 

1  Origin,  pp.  279-281.  •  »  Brand,  Popular  Antiquities,  1813,  i,  443. 

*  Henderson,  Folklore  of  the  Northern  Cimnties,  87-89. 

C.  B.  6 


82  Scef  and  Scyld  [ch.  ii 

...After  the  wheat  is  all  cut,  on  most  farms  in  the  north  of  Devon, 
the  harvest  people  have  a  custom  of  "crying  the  neck."  I  beheve 
that  this  practice  is  seldom  omitted  on  any  large  farm  in  that  part 
of  the  country.  It  is  done  in  this  way.  An  old  man,  or  someone 
else  well  acquainted  with  the  ceremonies  used  on  the  occasion  (when 
the  labourers  are  reaping  the  last  field  of  wheat),  goes  round  to  the 
shocks  and  sheaves,  and  picks  out  a  little  bundle  of  all  the  best  ears 
he  can  find ;  this  bundle  he  ties  up  very  neat  and  trim,  and  plats  and 
arranges  the  straws  very  tastefully.  This  is  called  "the  neck"  of 
wheat,  or  wheaten-ears.  After  the  field  is  cut  out,  and  the  pitcher  once 
more  circulated,  the  reapers,  binders,  and  the  women,  stand  round 
in  a  circle.  The  person  with  "the  neck "  stands  in  the  centre,  grasping 
it  with  both  his  hands.  He  first  stoops  and  holds  it  near  the  ground, 
and  all  the  men  forming  the  ring  take  off  their  hats,  stooping  and 
holding  them  with  both  hands  towards  the  ground.  They  then  all 
begin  at  once  in  a  very  prolonged  and  harmonious  tone  to  cry  "the 
neck!"  at  the  same  time  slowly  raising  themselves  upright,  and 
elevating  their  arms  and .  hats  above  their  heads ;  the  person  with 
"the  neck"  also  raising  it  on  high.  This  is  done  three  times.  They 
then  change  their  cry  to  "wee  yen ! " — "way  yen !" — which  they  sound 
in  the  same  prolonged  and  slow  manner  as  before,  with  singular 
harmony  and  efi^ect,  three  times.  This  last  cry  is  accompanied  by 
the  same  movements  of  the  body  and  arms  as  in  crying  "the  neck. "... 

...After  having  thus  repeated  "the  neck"  three  times,  and  "wee 
yen"  or  "way  yen"  as  often,  they  all  burst  out  into  a  kind  of  loud  and 
joyous  laugh,  flinging  up  their  hats  and  caps  into  the  air,  capering 
about  and  perhaps  kissing  the  girls.  One  of  them  then  gets  "the 
neck,"  and  runs  as  hard  as  he  can  down  to  the  farm-house,  where  the 
dairy-maid,  or  one  of  the  young  female  domestics,  stands  at  the  door 
prepared  with  a  pail  of  water.  If  he  who  holds  "the  neck"  can 
manage  to  get  into  the  house,  in  any  way,  unseen  or  openly,  by  any 
other  way  than  the  door  at  which  the  girl  stands  with  the  pail  of  water, 
then  he  may  lawfully  kiss  her;  but,  if  otherwise,  he  is  regularly 
soused  with  the  contents  of  the  bucket.  On  a  fine  still  autumn 
evening,  the  "crying  of  the  neck"  has  a  wonderful  effect  at  a  distance, 
far  finer  than  that  of  the  Turkish  muezzin,  which  Lord  Byron  eulogizes 
so  much,  and  which  he  says  is  preferable  to  all  the  bells  in  Christendom. 
I  have  once  or  twice  heard  upwards  of  twenty  men  cry  it,  and  some- 
times joined  by  an  equal  number  of  female  voices.  About  three  years 
back,  on  some  high  grounds,  where  our  people  were  harvesting,  I 
heard  six  or  seven  "necks"  cried  in  one  night,  although  I  know  that 
some  of  them  were  four  miles  off^. 

The  account  given  by  Mrs  Bray  of  the  Devonshire  custom, 

in  her  letters  to  Southey,  is  practically  identical  with  this^. 

We  have  plenty  of  evidence  for  this  ceremony  of  "Crying  the 

Neck"  in  the  South- Western  counties — in  Somersetshire 3,  in 

Cornwall*,  and  in  a  mutilated  form  in  Dorsetshire^. 


4 


1  Hone's  Every  Day  Booh,  1827,  p.  1170. 

2  The  Tamar  and  the  Tavy,  i,  330  (1836). 

3  Raymond,  Two  men  o'  Mendip,  1899,  259. 
*  Miss  M.  A.  Courtney,  Glossary  of  West  Cornwall;  T.  Q.  Couch,  Glossary 

of  East  Cornwall,  s.v.  Neck  {Eng.  Dial.  Soc.  1880) ;  Jago,  Ancient  Language  of 
Cornwall,  1882,  s.  v.  Anek.  ^  j^Qf^g  ^^  Queries,  4th  Ser.  xii,  491  (l'873). 


SECT,  v]  Scef  and  Scyld  83 

On  the  Welsh  border  the  essence  of  the  ceremony  con- 
sisted in  tying  the  last  ears  of  corn — perhaps  twenty — with 
ribbon,  and  severing  this  "neck"  by  throwing  the  sickle  at 
it  from  some  distance.  The  custom  is  recorded  in  Cheshire^, 
Shropshire^,  and  under  a  different  name  in  Herefordshire^. 
The  term  "neck"  seems  to  have  been  known  as  far  afield  as 
Yorkshire  and  the  "little  England  beyond  Wales  " — the  EngKsh- 
speaking  colony  of  Pembrokeshire*. 

Whether  we  are  to  interpret  the  expression  "the  Neck," 
applied  to  the  last  sheaf,  as  descended  from  a  time  when  "the 
com  spirit  is  conceived  in  human  form,  and  the  last  standing 

corn  is  a  part  of  its  body — its  neck^ "  or  whether  it  is  merely 

a  survival  of  the  Scandinavian  word  for  sheaf — nek  or  neg^y  we 
have  here  surely  evidence  of  the  worship  of  the  sheaf.  "In 
this  way  *  Sheaf  was  greeted,  before  he  passed  over  into  a 
purely  mythical  being'." 

I  do  not  think  these  "neck"  customs  can  be  traced  back 
beyond  the  seventeenth  century^.  Though  analogous  usages 
are  recorded  in  England  (near  Eton)  as  early  as  the  sixteenth 
century^,  it  was  not  usual  at  that  time  to  trouble  to  record 
such  things. 

The  earliest  document  bearing  upon  the  veneration  of  the 
sheaf  comes  from  a  neighbouring  district,  and  is  contained  in 
the  Chronicle  of  the  Monastery  of  Abingdon,  which  tells  how 
in  the  time  of  King  Edmund  (941-946)  a  controversy  arose  as 
to  the  right  of  the  monks  of  Abingdon  to  a  certain  portion  of 
land  adjoining  the  river.  The  monks  appealed  to  a  judgment 
of  God  to  vindicate  their  claim,  and  this  took  the  shape  of 

*  Holland's  Glossary  of  Chester  {Eng.  Dial.  Soc.),  s.v.  Cutting  the  Neck. 

2  Bume,  Shropshire  Folk  Lore,  1883,  371. 

3  "to  cry  the  Mare."  Blount,  Glossographia,  4th  edit.  1674,  a. v.  mare. 
€f.  Notes  and  Queries,  5th  Ser.  vi,  286  (1876). 

*  Wright,  Eng.  Dial.  Diet,  s.v.  neck. 

»  Frazer,  Spirits  of  the  Corn,  1912,  i,  268.  The  word  was  under- 
stood as  =  "neck"  by  the  peasants,  because  "They'm  taied  up  under  the 
chin  laike"  {Notes  and  Queries,  5th  Ser.  x,  51).  But  this  may  be  false 
etymology. 

*  Wright,  Eng.  Dial.  Diet.     Cf.  Notes  and  Queries,  5th  Ser.  x,  51. 
'  Heli'idigtning,  u,  252. 

^  The  earliest  record  of  the  term  "cutting  the  neck"  seems  to  be  found  in 
Randle  Holme's  Store  House  of  Armory,  1688  (n  73).  It  may  be  noted  that 
Holme  was  a  Cheshire  man. 

»  Mannhardt,  Mythologische  Forschungen,  Strassburg,  1884,  326  etc. 

6—2 


84  Scef  and  Scyld  [CH.  ii 

placing  a  sheaf,  with  a  taper  on  the  top,  upon  a  round  shield, 
and  letting  it  float  down  the  river,  the  shield  by  its  movements 
hither  and  thither  indicating  accurately  the  boundaries  of  the 
monastic  domain.  At  last  the  shield  came  to  the  field  in 
debate,  which,  thanks  to  the  floods,  it  was  able  to  circum- 
navigate^. 

Professor  Chadwick,  who  first  emphasized  the  importance 
of  this  strange  ordeal 2,  points  out  that  although  the  extant 
Mss  of  the  Chronicle  date  from  the  thirteenth  century,  the 
mention  of  a  round  shield  carries  the  superstition  back  to  a 
period  before  the  Norman  Conquest.  Therefore  this  story 
seems  to  give  us  evidence  for  the  use  of  the  sheaf  and  shield 
together  as  a  magic  symbol  in  Anglo-Saxon  times.  "An 
ordeal  by  letting  the  sheaf  sail  down  the  river  on  a  shield  was 
only  possible  at  a  time  when  the  sheaf  was  regarded  as  a  kind 
of  supernatural  being  which  could  find  the  way  itself^." 
/  But  a  still  closer  parallel  to  the  story  of  the  corn-figure 
coming  over  the  water  is  found  in  Finnish  mythology  in  the 
person  of  Sampsa  Pellervoinen.  Finnish  mythology  seems 
remote  from  our  subject,  but  if  the  figure  of  Sampsa  was 
borrowed  from  Germanic  mythology,  as  seems  to  be  thought*, 
we  are  justified  in  laying  great  weight  upon  the  parallel. 

Keaders  of  the  Kalewala  will  remember,  near  the  beginning, 
the  figure  of  Sampsa  Pellervoinen,  the  god  of  Vegetation. 
He  does  not  seem  to  do  much.     But  there  are  other  Finnish 

^  Quod  dum  servi  Dei  propensius  actitarent,  inspiratum  est  eis  salubre 
consilium  et  (ut  pium  est  credere)  divinitus  provisum.  Die  etenim  statute 
mane  surgentes  monaehi  sumpserunt  scutum  rotundum,  cui  imponebant 
manipulum  frumenti,  et  super  manipulum  cereum  circumspectae  quantitatis 
et  grossitudinis.  Quo  accenso  scutum  cum  manipulo  et  cereo,  flu  vie  ecclesiam 
praetercurrenti  committimt,  paucis  in  navicula  fratribus  subsequentibus. 
Praecedebat  itaque  eos  scutum  et  quasi  digito  demonstrans  possessiones  domui 
Abbendoniae  de  jure  adjacentes  nunc  hue,  nunc  illuc  divertens;  nunc  in  dextra 
nunc  in  sinistra  parte  fiducialiter  eos  praeibat,  usquedum  veniret  ad  rivum 
prope  pratum  quod  Beri  vocatur,  in  quo  cereus  medium  cursum  Tamisiae 
miraculose  deserens  se  declinavit  et  circumdedit  pratum  inter  Tamisiam  et 
Gifteleia,  quod  hieme  et  multociens  aestate  ex  redundatione  Tamisiae  in  modum 
insulae  aqua  circumdatur. 

Chronicon  Monasterii  de  Abingdon,  ed.  Stevenson,  1858,  vol.  i,  p.  89. 

2  Chadwick,  Origin,  278. 

3  Olrik,  Heltedigtning,  n,  251. 

*  But  is  this  so?  "The  word  Sampsa  (now  sampsykka)  'small  rush, 
scirpus  silvaticus,  forest  rush,'  is  borrowed  from  the  Germanic  family  (Engl, 
eemse;  Germ,  simse)."   Olrik,  253.    But  the  Engl,  "semse"  is  difficult  to  track. 

See  also  note  by  A.  Mieler  in  Finnisch-Ugrische  Forschungen,  x,  43,  1910. 


SECT,  v]  8cef  and  Scyld  85 

poems  in  Lis  honour,  extant  in  varying  versions^.  It  is  difficult 
to  get  a  collected  idea  from  these  fragmentary  records,  but  it 
seems  to  be  this :  Ahti,  the  god  of  the  sea,  sends  messengers  to  j 
summon  Sampsa,  so  that  he  may  bring  fertility  to  the  fields.  1 
In  one  version,  first  the  Winter  and  then  the  Summer  are  sent 
to  arouse  Sampsa,  that  he  may  make  the  crops  and  trees  grow. 
Winter — 

Took  a  foal  swift  as  the  spring  wind. 

Let  the  storm  wind  bear  him  forward, 

Blew  the  trees  till  they  were  leafless. 

Blew  the  grass  till  it  was  seedless. 

Bloodless  likewise  the  young  maidens. 

Sampsa  refuses  to  come.  Then  the  Summer  is  sent  with  better 
results.  In  another  version  Sampsa  is  fetched  from  an  island 
beyond  the  sea: 

It  is  I  who  summoned  Sampsa 
From  an  isle  amid  the  ocean. 
From  a  skerry  bare  and  treeless. 

In  yet  another  variant  we  are  told  how  the  boy  Sampsa 

Took  six  grains  from  ofiE  the  com  heap. 
Slept  all  summer  mid  the  corn  heap. 
In  the  bosom  of  the  corn  boat. 

Now  "It's  a  long,  long  way  to"  Ilomantsi  in  the  east  of 
Finland,  where  this  last  variant  was  discovered.     But  at  least 
we  have  evidence  that,  within  the  region  influenced  by  Germanic 
mythology,  the  spirit  of  vegetation  was  thought  of  as  a  boy  - 
coming  over  the  sea,  or  sleeping  in  a  boat  with  corn^. 

To  sum  up: 

Sceafa,  when  the  Catalogue  of  Kings  in  Widsith  was  drawn 
up — before  Beowulf  was  composed,  at  any  rate  in  its  present 
form — was  regarded  as  an  ancient  king.  When  the  West 
Saxon  pedigree  was  drawn  up,  certainly  not  much  more  than 
a  century  and  a  half  after  the  composition  of  Beowulf,  and 
perhaps  much  less,  Sceaf  was  regarded  as  the  primitive  figure 
in  the  pedigree,  before  whom  no  one  lived  save  the  Hebrew 
patriarchs.     That  he   was   originally   thought  of   as  a  child, 

^  Kaarle  Krohn,  "Sampsa  Pellervoinen"  in  Finniach-Ugrische  Forschungen 
IV,  231  etc.,  1904. 

2  Cf.  Oh-ik,  HeltedigtJiing,  ii,  252  etc.. 


86  Beef  and  Scyld  [CH.  ii 

coming  across  the  water,  with  the  sheaf  of  corn,  is,  in  view  of 
the  Finnish  parallel,  exceedingly  probable,  and  acquires  some 
confirpation  from  the  Chronicler's  placing  him  in  Noah's  ark. 
But  the  definite  evidence  for  this  is  late. 

Scyld,  on  the  other  hand,  is  in  the  first  place  probably 
a  mere  eponym  of  the  power  of  the  Scylding  kings  of  Denmark. 
He  may,  at  a  very  early  date,  have  been  provided  with  a  ship 
funeral,  since  later  two  Swedish  kings,  both  apparently  of 
Danish  origin,  have  this  ship  funeral  accorded  to  them,  and  in 
one  case  it  is  expressly  said  to  be  "according  to  the  custom  of 
his  ancestors."  But  it  seems  exceedingly  improbable  that  his 
9riginal  story  represented  him  as  coming  over  the  sea  in  a 
boat.  For,  if  so,  it  remains  to  be  explained  why  this  motive 
has  entirely  disappeared  among  his  own  people  in  Scandinavia, 
and  has  been  preserved  only  in  England^  Would  the  Danes 
have  been  likely  to  forget  utterly  so  striking  a  story,  concerning 
the  king  from  whom  their  line  derived  its  name?  Further, 
in  England,  Beowulf  alone  attributes  this  story  to  Scyld,  whilst 
later  historians  attribute  it  to  Sceaf.  In  view  of  the  way  in 
which  the  story  of  William  of  Malmesbury  is  supported  by  folk- 
lore, to  regard  that  story  as  merely  the  result  of  error  or 
invention  seems  perilous  indeed. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  becomes  straightforward  if  we 
allow  that  Scyld  and  Sceaf  were  both  ancient  figures  standing 
at  the  head  of  famous  dynasties.  Their  names  alHterate. 
What  more  likely  than  that  their  stories  should  have  influenced 
each  other,  and  that  one  king  should  have  come  to  be  regarded 
as  the  parent  or  ancestor  of  the  other?  Contamination  with 
Scyld  would  account  for  Sceaf's  boat  being  stated  to  have 
come  to  land  in  Scani,  Scanza — that  Scedeland  which  is  men- 
tioned as  the  seat  of  Scyld's  rule.  Yet  this  explanation  is 
not  necessary,  for  if  Sceaf  were  an  early  Longobard  king,  he 
would  be  rightly  represented  as  ruling  in  Scandinavia^. 

1  I  do  not  understand  why  Olrik  [Hdtedigtning,  i,  235)  declares  the  coining 
to  land  in  Scani  (Ethelwerd)  to  be  inconsistent  with  Sceaf  as  a  Longobardic 
king  {Widsith).  For,  according  to  their  national  historian,  the  Longobardi 
came  from  "Scadinavia"  [Paul  the  Deacon,  i,  1-7].  It  is  a  more  serious 
difficulty  that  Paul  knows  of  no  Longobardic  king  with  a  name  which  we  can 
equate  with  Sceaf. 


SECT,  vi]  Beow  87 


Section  VI.    Beow. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  genealogies  agree  that  the  son  of  SceldWa 
(Scyld)  is  Beow  (Beaw,  Beo).  In  Beowulf,  he  is  named  not 
Beow,  but  Beowulf. 

Many  etymologies  have  been  suggested  for  Beow.  But 
considering  that  Beow  is  in  some  versions  a  grandson,  in  all 
a  descendant  of  Sceaf,  it  can  hardly  be  an  accident  that  his 
name  is  identical  with  the  O.E.  word  for  grain,  heow.  The 
Norse  word  corresponding  to  this  is  hygg^. 

Recent  investigation  of  the  name  is  best  summed  up  in 
the  words  of  Axel  Olrik: 

**  New  light  has  been  cast  upon  the  question  of  the  derivation  of 
the  name  Beow  by  Kaarle  Krohn's  investigation  of  the  debt  of 
Finnish  to  Norse  mythology,  together  with  Magnus  Olsen's  linguistic 
interpretation.  The  Finnish  has  a  deity  Pekko,  concerning  whom  ii 
is  said  that  he  promoted  the  growth  of  barley:  the  Esths,  closely 
akin  to  the  Finns,  have  a  corresponding  Peko,  whose  image — the  size 
of  a  three-year-old  child — was  carried  out  into  the  fields  and  invoked 
at  the  time  of  sowing,  or  else  was  kept  in  the  corn-bin  by  a  custodian 
chosen  for  a  year.  This  Pekko  is  plainly  a  personification  of  the 
barley;  the  form  corresponding  phonetically  in  Runic  Norse  would 
be  *beggw-  (from  which  comes  Old  Norse  hygg). 

"So  in  Norse  there  was  a  grain  *beggw-  (becoming  bygg)  and  a 
corn-god  *Beggw-  (becoming  Pekko).  In  Anglo-Saxon  there  was  a 
grain  beow  and  an  ancestral  Beow.  And  all  four  are  phonetically 
identical  (proceeding  from  a  primitive  form  *beuwa,  'barley').  The 
conclusion  which  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  is,  that  the  corn-spirit  '  Barley ' 
and  the  ancestor  'Barley'  are  one  and  the  same.  The  relation  is 
the  same  as  that  between  King  Sheaf  and  the  worship  of  the  sheaf: 
the  worshipped  corn- being  gradually  sinks  into  the  background,  and 
comes  to  be  regarded  as  an  epic  figure,  an  early  ancestor. 

"We  have  no  more  exact  knowledge  of  the  mythical  ideas  connected 
either  with  the  ancestor  Beow  or  the  corn-god  Pekko.  But  we  know 
enough  of  the  worship  of  Pekko  to  show  that  he  dwelt  in  the  corn-heap, 
and  that,  in  the  spring,  he  was  fetched  out  in  the  shape  of  a  little 
child.  That  reminds  us  not  a  little  of  Sampsa,  who  lay  in  the  corn- 
heap  on  the  ship,  and  came  to  land  and  awoke  in  the  spring^." 

1  So,  corresponding  to  O.E.  tnewe  we  have  Icel.  tryggr;   to  O.E.  gleaw,  Icel. 
gloggr;    O.E.  scuwa,  Icel.  skugg-. 
'2  Olrik,  HeUedigtning,  11,  1910,  pp.  254-5. 

An  account  of  the  worship  of  Pekko  will  be  found  in  Finmsch-Ugrische 
Forschungen,  vi,  1906,  pp.  104-111:  Vber  den  Pekokultus  bei  den  Setukesen, 
by  M.  J.  Eisen.    See  also  Appendix  (A)  below.  o 

Pellon-Pecko  is  mentioned  by  Michael  Agricola,  Bishop  of  Abo,  in  his 
translation  of  the  Psalter  into  Finnish,  1551.  It  is  here  that  we  are  told  that 
he  "promoted  the  growth  of  barley." 


88  Beow  [CH.  II 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  this  is  "harking  back"  to  the 
old  mythological  interpretations.  After  refusing  to  accept 
Miillenhoff's  assumptions,  are  we  not  reverting,  through  the 
names  of  Sceaf  and  Beow,  and  the  worship  of  the  sheaf,  to 
very  much  the  same  thing? 

No.  It  is  one  thing  to  beUeve  that  the  ancestor-king  Beow 
may  be  a  weakened  form  of  an  ancient  divinity,  a  mere  name 
surviving  from  the  figure  of  an  old  corn-god  Beow ;  it  is  quite 
another  to  assume,  as  Miillenhoff  did,  that  what  we  are  told 
about  Beowulf  was  originally  told  about  Beow  and  that  there- 
fore we  are  justified  in  giving  a  mythological  meaning  to  it. 

All  we  know,  conjecture  apart,  about  Beow  is  his  traditional 
relationship  to  Scyld,  Sceaf  and  the  other  figures  of  the  pedigree. 
That  Beowulf's  dragon  fight  belonged  originally  to  him  is  only 
a  conjecture.  In  confirmation  of  this  conjecture  only  one 
argument  has  been  put  forward :  an  argument  turning  upon 
Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld — that  obscure  figure,  apparently  equi- 
valent to  Beow,  who  meets  us  at  the  beginning  of  our  poem. 

Beowulf's  place  as  a  son  of  Scyld  and  father  of  Healfdene 
is  occupied- in  the  Danish  genealogies  by  Frothi,  son  of  Skjold, 
and  father  of  Half  dan.  It  has  been  urged  that  the  two  figures 
are  really  identical,  in  spite  of  the  difference  of  name.  Now 
Frothi  slays  a  dragon,  and  it  has  been  argued  that  this  dragon 
fight  shows  similarities  which  enable  us  to  identify  it  with  the 
dragon  fight  attributed  in  our  poem  to  Beowulf  the  Geat. 

The  argument  is  a  strong  one — if  it  really  is  the  case  that 
the  dragon  slain  by  Frothi  was  the  same  monster  as  that  slain 
by  Beowulf  the  Geat. 

Unfortunately  this  parallel,  which  will  be  examined  in  the 
next  section,  is  far  from  certain.  We  must  be  careful  not  to 
argue  in  a  circle,  identifying  Beowulf  and  Frothi  because  they 
slew  the  same  dragon,  and  then  identifying  the  dragons  because 
they  were  slain  by  the  same  hero. 

Whilst,  therefore,  we  admit  that  it  is  highly  probable  that 
Beow  (grain)  the  descendant  of  Sceaf  (sheaf)  was  originally 
a  corn  divinity  or  corn  fetish,  we  cannot  follow  Miillenhofi  in 
his  bold  attribution  to  this  "culture  hero"  of  Beowulf's  ad- 
ventures with  the  dragon  or  with  Grendel. 


SECT,  vii]       The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels       89 

Section  VII.    The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish 
parallels:   Heremod-Lotherus  and  Beowulf-Frotho. 

Scyld,  although  the  source  of  that  Scylding  dynasty  which 
our  poem  celebrates,  is  not  apparently  regarded  in  Beowulf  as 
the  earliest  Danish  king.  He  came  to  the  throne  after  an 
interregnum;  the  people  whom  he  grew  up  to  rule  had  long 
endured  cruel  need,  "being  without  a  prince^."  We  hear  in 
Beowulf  of  one  Danish  king  only  whom  we  can  place  chrono- 
logically before  Scyld— viz.  Heremod^.  The  way  in  which-  "* 
Heremod  is  referred  to  would  fit  in  very  well  with  the  sup-*^  7 
position^  that  he  was  the  last  of  a  dynasty;  the  immediate 
predecessor  of  Scyld;  and  that  it  was  the  death  or  exile  of 
Heremod  which  ushered  in  the  time  when  the  Danes  were 
without  a  prince? 

Now  there  is  a  natural  tendency  in  genealogies  for  each  king 
to  be  represented  as  the  descendant  of  his  predecessor,  whether 
he  really  was  so  or  no;  so  that  in  the  course  of  time,  and 
sometimes  of  a  very  short  time,  the  first  king  of  a  new  dynasty 
may  come  to  be  reckoned  as  son  of  a  king  of  the  preceding  line*. 
Consequently,  there  would  be  nothing  surprising  if,  in  another 
account,  we  find  Scyld  represented  as  a  son  of  Heremod.  And 
we  do  find  the  matter  represented  thus  in  the  West  Saxon 
genealogy,  where  Sceldwa  or  Scyld  is  son  of  Heremod. 
Turning  to  the  Danish  accounts,  however,  we  do  not  find  any 
Hermo&r  (which  is  the  form  we  should  expect  corresponding  to 
Heremod)  as  father  to  Skjold  (Scyld).  Either  no  father  of 
^jold  is  known,  or  else  (in  Saxo  Grammaticus)  he  has  a  father 
Lotherus.  But,  although  the  names  are  different,  there  is 
some  correspondence  between  what  we  are  told  of  Lother  and 
what  we  are  told  of  Heremod.  A  close  parallel  has  indeed 
been  drawn  by  Sievers  between  the  whole  dynasty :  on  the  one 
hand  Lotherus,  his  son  Skioldus,  and  his  descendant  Frotho, 

1  1.  15. 

2  That  Heremod  is  a  Danish  king  is  clear  from  11.  1709  etc.  And  as  we  have 
all  the  stages  in  the  Scylding  genealogy  from  Scyld  to  Hrothgar,  Heremod 
must  be  placed  earlier. 

'  Of  Grein  in  Eherts  Jahrbvch,  iv,  264. 

*  A  good  example  of  this  is  supplied  by  the  Assyrian  records,  which  make 
Jehu  a  son  of  Omri — whose  family  he  had  destroyed. 


90  The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels :      [CH.  ii 


as  given  in  Saxo:  and  on  the  other  hand  the  corresponding 
figures  in  Beowulf,  Heremod,  Scyld,  and  Scyld's  son,  Beowulf 
the  Dane. 

The  fixed  and  certain  point  here  is  the  identity  of  the 
central  figure,  Skioldus-Scyld.  All  the  rest  is  very  doubtful; 
not  that  there  are  not  many  parallel  features,  but  because  the 
parallels  are  of  a  commonplace  type  which  might  so  easily 
recur  accidentally. 

^"""^lihQ  story  of  Lother,  as  given  by  Saxo,  will  be  found  below : 
.  .  the  story  of  Heremod  as  given  in  Beowulf  \^  hopelessly  obscure 
— a  mere  succession  of  allusions  intended  for  an  audience  who 
knew  the  tale  quite  well.  Assuming  the  stories  of  Lother  and 
Heremod  to  be  different  versions  of  one  original,  the  following 
would  seem  to  be  the  most  likely  reconstruction^,  the  more 
doubtful  portions  being  placed  within  round  brackets  thus  (  ) : 

The  old  Danish  prince  [Dan  in  Saxo]  has  two  sons,  one  a  weakling 
[Humhlus,  Saxo]  the  other  a  hero  [Lotherus,  Saxo :  Heremod,  Beowulf] 
(who  was  already  in  his  youth  the  hope  of  the  nation).  But  after 
his  father's  death  the  elder  was  (through  violence)  raised  to  the  throne : 
and  Lother-Heremod  went  into  banishment.  (But  under  the  rule  of 
the  weakling  the  kingdom  went  to  pieces,  and  thus)  many  a  man 
longed  for  the  return  of  the  exile,  as  a  help  against  these  evils.  So 
the  hero  conquers  and  deposes  the  weaker  brother.  But  then  his 
faults  break  forth,  his  greed  and  his  cruelty:  he  ceases  to  be  the 
darling  and  becomes  the  scourge  of  his  people,  till  they  rise  and  either 
slay  him  or  drive  him  again  into  exile. 

If  the  stories  of  Lother  and  Heremod  are  connected,  we  may 
be  fairly  confident  that  Heremod,  not  Lother,  was  the  name  of 
the  king  in  the  original  story. 

For  Scandinavian  literature  does  know  a  Hermoth  (Her- 
mo&r),  though  no  such  adventures  are  attributed  to  him  as 
those  recorded  of  Heremod  in  Beowulf.  Nevertheless  it  is 
.  probable  that  this  Hermoth  and  Heremod  in  Beowulf  are  one 
f  and  the  same,  because  both  heroes  are  linked  in  some  way  or 
other  with  Sigemund.  How  these  two  kings,  Heremod  and 
Sigemund,  came  to  be  connected,  we  do  not  know,  but  we  find 
this   connection    recurring   again   and   again^.     This    7nay    be 

^  This  reconstruction  is  made  by  Sievers  in  the  Berichte  d.  k.  sacks.  GeseU- 
schaft  der  Wissenschaften,  1895,  pp.  180-88. 

2  The  god  Hermodr  who  rides  to  Hell  to  carry  a  message  to  the  dead  Baldr 
is  here  left  out  of  consideration.  His  connection  with  the  king  Hermo&r  is 
obscure. 


SECT,  vii]      Heremod-Lotherus  and  Beowulf-FrothA)         91 

mere  coincidence :  but  I  doubt  if  we  are  justified  in  assuming 
it  to  be  so^. 

It  has  been  suggested^  that  both  Heremod  and  Sigemund 
were  originally  heroes  specially  connected  with  the  worship  of 
Odin,  and  hence  grouped  together.  The  history  of  the  Scandi- 
navian Sigmund  is  bound  up  with  that  of  the  magic  sword 
which  Odin  gave  him,  and  with  which  he  was  always  victorious 
till  the  last  fight  when  Odin  himself  shattered  it. 

And  we  are  told  in  the  Icelandic  that  Odin,  whilst  he  gave 
a  sword  to  Sigmund,  gave  a  helm  and  byrnie  to  Hermoth.     

Again,  whilst  in  one  Scandinavian  poem  Sigmund  is  repre- 
sented as  welcoming  the  newcomer  at  the  gates  of  Valhalla,  in 
another  the  same  duty  is  entrusted  to  Hermoth. 

Jt  is  clear  also  that  the  Beowulf-^oet  had  in  mind  some  kind 
of  connection,  though  we  cannot  tell  what,  between  Sigemund 
and  Heremod. 

We  may  take  it,  then,  that  the  Heremod  who  is  linked  with 
Sigemund  in  Beowulf  was  also  known  in  Scandinavian  literature 
as  a  hero  in  some  way  connected  with  Sigmund:  whether  or 
no  the  adventures  which  Saxo  records  of  Lotherus  were  really 
told  in  Scandinavian  lands  in  connection  with  Hermoth,  we 
cannot  say.  The  wicked  king  whose  subjects  rebel  against 
him  is  too  common  a  feature  of  Germanic  story  for  us  to  feel 
sure,  without  a  good  deal  of  corroborative  evidence,  that  the 
figures  of  Lotherus  and  Heremod  are  identical. 

The  next  king  in  the  line,  Skioldus  in  Saxo,  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  clearly  identical  with  Scyld  in  Beowulf.  But  beyond  the 
name,  the  two  traditions  have,  as  we  have  also  seen,  but  little 
in  common.  Both  are  youthful  heroes^,  both  force  neigh- 
bouring kings  to  pay  tribute*;  but  such  things  are  common- 
places 5. 

We  must  therefore  turn  to  the  next  figure  in  the  pedigree : 
the  son  of  Skjold  in  Scandinavian  tradition  is  Frothi  (Frotho 

^  On  this  see  Dederich,  Historische  u.  geographische  Studien,  214;  Heinzel 
in  A.f.d.A.  xv,  161;    Chadwick,  Origin,  148;    Chadwick,  Cult  of  Othin,  51. 

2  Chadwick,  Cult  of  Othin,  pp.  50,  etc. 

^  puerulus...pro  miraculo  exceptus  (William  of  Malmesbury).  Cf.  Beowulf, 
1.  7.     In  Saxo,  Skjold  distinguishes  himseK  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 

*  omnem  Alemannorum  gentem  tributaria  ditione  perdomuit.    Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  1 1. 

*  See  above,  p.  77. 


92  The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels :      [CH.  ii 

in  Saxo)^,  the  son  of  Scyld  in  Beowulf  is  Beowulf  the  Dane. 
And  Frothi  is  the  father  of  Halfdan  (Haldanus  in  Saxo)  as 
Beowulf  the  Dane  is  of  Healfdene.  The  Frothi  of  Scandinavian 
tradition  corresponds  then  in  position  to  Beowulf  the  Dane  in 
Old  English  story2. 

Now  of  Beowulf  the  Dane  we  are  told  so  little  that  we  have 
really  no  means  of  drawing  a  comparison  between  him  and 
Frothi.  But  a  theory  that  has  found  wide  acceptance  among 
scholars  assumes  that  the  dragon  fight  of  Beowulf  the  Geat 
was  originally  narrated  of  Beowulf  the  Dane,  and  only  sub- 
sequently transferred  to  the  Geatic  hero.  Theoretically,  then, 
Beowulf  the  Dane  kills  a  dragon.  Now  certainly  Frotho  kills 
a  dragon :  and  it  has  been  generally  accepted^  that  the  parallels 
between  the  dragon  slain  by  Frotho  and  that  slain  by  Beowulf 
the  Geat  are  so  remarkable  as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of 
mere  accidental  coincidence,  and  to  lead  us  to  conclude  that 
the  dragon  story  was  originally  told  of  that  Beowulf  who 
corresponds  to  Frothi,  i.e.  Beowulf  the  Dane,  son  of  Scyld  and 
father  of  Healfdene;  not  Beowulf,  son  of  Ecgtheow,  the  Geat. 

But  are  the  parallels  really  so  close?  We  must  not  forget 
that  here  we  are  building  theory  upcm  theory.  That  the 
Frotho  of  Saxo  is  the  same  figure  as  Beowulf  the  Dane  in  Old 
English,  is  a  theory,  based  upon  his  common  relationship  to 
Skiold-Scyld  before  him  and  to  Haldanus-Healfdene  coming 
after  him:  that  Beowulf  the  Dane  was  the  original  hero  of 
the  dragon  fight,  and  that  that  dragon  fight  was  only  sub- 
sequently transferred  to  the  credit  of  Beowulf  the  Geat,  is 
again  a  theory.  Only  if  we  can  find  real  parallels  between  the 
dragon-slaying  of  Frotho  and  the  dragon-slaying  of  Beowulf 
will  these  theories  have  confirmation. 

^  This  relationship  of  Frothi  and  Skjold  is  preserved  by  Sweyn  Aageson : 
Skiold  Danis  primum  didici  praefuisse....A  quo  primum...Ski6ldunger  sunt 
Reges  nuncupati.  Qui  regni  post  se  reliquit  haeredes  Frothi  videlicet  &  Hal- 
danum.     Svenonis  Aggonis  Hist.  Regum  Dan.  in  Langebek,  S.E.D.  i,  44. 

In  Saxo  Frotho  is  not  the  son,  but  the  great  grandson  of  Skioldus — but  this 
is  a  discrepancy  which  may  be  neglected,  because  it  seems  clear  that  the  differ- 
ence is  due  to  Saxo  having  inserted  two  names  into  the  line  at  this  point — 
those  of  Gram  and  Hadding.  There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Danish 
tradition  really  represented  Frothi  as  son  of  Skjold. 

2  Those  who  accept  the  identification  would  regard  Frodi  (O.E.  Froda, 
'the  wise')  as  a  title  which  has  ous^^ed  the  proper  name. 

^  Boer,  Ark.  f.  nord.filol,  xix,  67,  calls  this  theory  of  Sievers  "indisputable." 


SECT,  vii]      Heremod-Lotheru8  and  Beowvlf-Frotho  93 

Parallels  have  been  pointed  out  by  Sievers  which  he  regards 
as  so  close  as  to  justify  a  belief  that  both  are  derived  ultimately 
from  an  old  lay,  with  so  much  closeness  that  verbal  resem- 
blances can  still  be  traced. 

Unfortunately  the  parallels  are  all  commonplaces.  That 
Sievers  and  others  have  been  satisfied  with  them  was  perhaps 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  started  by  assuming  as  proved  that 
the  dragon  fight  of  Beowulf  the  Geat  belonged  originally  to 
Beowulf  the  Dane^,  and  argued  that  since  Frotho  in  Saxo 
occupies  a  place  corresponding  exactly  to  that  of  Beowulf  the 
Dane  in  Beowulf^  a  comparatively  limited  resemblance  between 
two  dragons  coming,  as  it  were,  at  the  same  point  in  the  pedigree, 
might  be  held  sufficient  to  identify  them. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  assumption  that  the  dragon 
fight  of  Beowulf  the  Geat  belonged  originally  to  Beowulf  the 
Dane  is  only  a  theory  that  will  have  to  stand  or  fall  as  we 
can  prove  that  the  dragon  fight  of  Frotho  is  really  parallel 
to  that  of  Beowulf  the  Geat,  and  therefore  must  have  belonged 
to  the  connecting  link  supplied  by  the  Scylding  prince  Beowulf 
the  Dane.  In  other  words,  the  theory  that  the  dragon  in 
Beowulf  is  to  be  identified  with  the  dragon  which  in  Saxo  is  \ 
slain  by  Frotho  the  Danish  prince,  father  of  Haldanus-Healf- 
dene,  is  one  of  the  main  arguments  upon  which  we  must  base 
the  theory  that  the  dragon  in  Beowulf  was  originally  slain  by 
the  Danish  Beowulf,  father  of  Healfdene,  not  by  Beowulf  the 
Geat.  We  cannot  then  turn  round,  and  assert  that  the  fact 
that  they  were  both  slain  by  a  Danish  prince,  the  father  of 
Healfdene,  is  an  argument  for  identifying  the  dragons. 

Turning  to  the  dragon  fight  itself,  the  following  parallels 
have  been  noted  by  Sievers: 

(1)  A  native  (indigena)  comes  to  Frotho,  and  tells  him  of 
the  treasure-guarding  dragon.  An  informer  (melda)  plays  the 
same  part  in  Beowulf^. 

But  a  dragon  is  not  game  which  can  be  met  with  every 
day.  He  is  a  shy  beast,  lurking  in  desert  places.  Some 
informant    has    very   frequently   to    guide    the    hero    to    his 

1  Sievers,  p.  181. 

2  Beovmlf,  2405.     Cf.  2215,  2281. 


94  The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels :      [CH.  ii 

foe^.  And  the  situation  is  widely  different.  Frotho  knows 
nothing  of  the  dragon  till  directed  to  the  spot:  Beowulf's 
land  has  been  assailed,  he  knows  of  the  dragon,  though  he 
needs  to  be  guided  to  its  exact  lair. 

(2)  Frotho's  dragon  lives  on  an  island.  Beowulf's  lives 
near  the  sea,  and  there  is  an  island  (ealond,  2334)  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

But  ealond  in  Beowulf  probably  does  not  mean  "island" 
at  all :  and  in  any  case  the  dragon  did  not  live  upon  the  ealond. 
Many  dragons  have  lived  near  the  sea.  Sigemund's  dragon 
did  so 2. 

(3)  The  hero  in  each  case  attacks  the  dragon  single-handed. 
But   what   hero    ever   did   otherwise?     On   the   contrary, 

Beowulf's  exploit  differs  from  that  of  Frotho  and  of  most 
other  dragon  slayers  in  that  he  is  unable  to  overcome  his  foe 
single-handed,  and  needs  the  support  of  Wiglaf. 

(4)  Special  armour  is  carried  by  the  dragon  slayer  in  each 
case. 

But  this  again  is  no  imcommon  feature.  The  Red  Cross 
Knight  also  needs  special  armour.  Dragon  slayers  constantly 
invent  some  ingenious  or  even  unique  method.  And  again 
the  parallel  is  far  from  close.  Frotho  is  advised  to  cover  his 
shield  and  his  limbs  with  the  hides  of  bulls  and  kine:  a  sen- 
sible precaution  against  fiery  venom.  Beowulf  constructs  a 
shield  of  iron^ :  which  naturally  gives  very  inferior  protection*. 

(5)  Frotho's  informant  tells  him  that  he  must  be  of  good 
courage^.     Wiglaf  encourages  Beowulf^. 

But  the  circumstances  under  which  the  words  are  uttered 
are  entirely  different,  nor  have  the  words  more  than  a  general 
resemblance.  That  a  man  needs  courage,  if  he  is  going  to 
tackle  a  dragon,  is  surely  a  conclusion  at  which  two  minds 
could  have  arrived  independently. 

(6)  Both  heroes  waste  their  blows  at  first  on  the  scaly 
back  of  the  dragon. 

1  So  Regin  guides  Sigurd :  Una  the  Red  Cross  Knight.  The  list  might  be 
indefinitely  extended.  Similarly  with  giants :  "Then  came  to  him  a  husband- 
man of  the  country,  and  told  him  how  there  was  in  the  country  of  Constantine, 
beside  Brittany,  a  great  giant"..,.     Morte  d' Arthur,  Book  v,  cap.  v. 

2  Beoimlf,  895.  »  i,  2338.  *  11.  2570  etc. 

^  intrepidum  mentis  habitum  retinere  memento.  *  11.  2663  etc. 


SECT,  vii]     Heremod-Lotherus  and  Beoioidf-Frotho         95 

But  if  the  hero  went  at  once  for  the  soft  parts,  there  would 

be  no  fight  at  all,  and  all  the  fun  would  be  lost.     Sigurd's 

dragon-fight  is,  for  this  reason,  a  one-sided  business  from  the 

first.     To  avoid  this,  Frotho  is  depicted  as  beginning  by  an 

attack   on  the  dragon's  rough   hide   (although   he   has  been 

specially  warned  by  the  indigena  not  to  do  so) : 

ventre  sub  imo 
esse  locum  scito  quo  femim  mergere  fas  est, 
hunc  mucrone  petens  medium  rimaberis  anguem^. 

(7)  The  hoard  is  plundered  by  both  heroes. 

But  it  is  the  nature  of  a  dragon  to  guard  a  hoard^.  And, 
having  slain  the  dragon,  what  hero  would  neglect  the  gold? 

(8)  There  are  many  verbal  resemblances :  the  dragon  spits 
venom^,  and  twists  himself  into  coils*. 

Some  of  these  verbal  resemblances  may  be  granted  as 
proved:  but  they  surely  do  not  prove  the  common  origin  of 
the  two  dragon  fights.  They  only  tend  to  prove  the  common 
origin  of  the  school  of  poetry  in  which  these  two  dragon  fights 
were  told.  That  dragons  dwelt  in  mounds  was  a  common 
Germanic  belief,  to  which  the  Cottonian  Gnomic  verses  testify. 
Naturally,  therefore,  Frotho's  dragon  is  montis  possessor: 
Beowulf's  is  heorges  hyrde.  The  two  phrases  undoubtedly 
point  back  to  a  similar  gradus,  to  a  similar  traditional  stock 
phraseology,  and  to  similar  beliefs :  that  is  all.  As  well  argue 
that  two  kings  must  be  identical,  because  each  is  called  folces 
hyrde. 

These  commonplace  phrases  and  commonplace  features  are 
surely  quite  insufiicient  to  prove  that  the  stories  are  identical 
— at  most  they  only  prove  that  they  bear  the  impress  of  one 
and  the  same  poetical  school.  If  a  parallel  is  to  carry  weight 
there  must  be  something  individual  about  it,  as  there  is,  for 
example,  about  the  arguments  by  which  the  identity  of  Beowulf 
and  Bjarki  have  been  supported.     That  a  hero  comes  from 

*  Cf.  Beoumlf,  2705:   foriordt  Wedra  helm  wyrm  on  middan. 

2  Cf.  Cotton.  Gnomic  verses,  11.  26-7 :  Draca  sceal  on  hlxwe :  frod,  fratwum 
wlanc, 

'  virusque  profundens :  wearp  wxl-fyre,  2582. 

*  implicitus  gyris  serpens  crebrisque  reflexus 
orbibus  et  caudae  sinuosa  volumina  ducens 
multiplicesque  agitans  spiras. 

Cf.  Beoumlf,  2567-8,  2569,  2661  {hring-boga),  2827  {wohhogen). 


96  The  house  of  Scyld  and  Danish  parallels :      [CH.  ii 

Geatland  (Gautland)  to  the  court  where  Hrothulf  (Rolf)  is 
abiding;  that  the  same  hero  subsequently  is  instrumental  in 
helping  Eadgils  (Athils)  against  Onela  (Ali) — here  we  have 
something  tangible.  But  when  two  heroes,  engaged  upon 
slaying  a  dragon,  are  each  told  to  be  brave,  the  parallel  is  too 
general  to  be  a  parallel  at  all.  "  There  is  a  river  in  Macedon : 
and  there  is  also  moreover  a  river  at  Monmouth,  and  thereis 
salmons  in  both." 

And  there  is  a  fundamental  difference,  which  would  serve 
to  neutralize  the  parallels,  even  did  they  appear  much  less 
accidental  than  they  do. 

Dragon  fights  may  be  classified  into  several  types:  two 
stand  out  prominently.  There  is  the  story  in  which  the  young 
hero  begins  his  career  by  slaying  a  dragon  or  monster  and 
winning,  it  may  be  a  hoard  of  gold,  it  may  be  a  bride.  This 
is  the  type  of  story  found,  for  instance,  in  the  tales  of  Sigurd, 
or  Perseus,  or  St  George.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  the  hero 
who,  at  the  end  of  his  career,  seeks  to  ward  off  evil  from  himself 
and  his  people.  He  slays  the  monster,  but  is  himself  slain  by 
it.  The  great  example  of  this  type  is  the  god  Thor,  w^ho  in 
the  last  fight  of  the  gods  slays  the  Dragon,  but  dies  when  he 
has  reeled  back  nine  paces  from  the  "baleful  serpent^." 

Now  the  story  of  the  victorious  young  Frotho  is  of  the  one 
type:  that  of  the  aged  Beowulf  is  of  the  other.  And  this 
difference  is  essential,  fundamental,  dominating  the  whole 
situation  in  each  case :  giving  its  cheerful  and  aggressive  tone 
to  the  story  of  Frotho,  giving  the  elegiac  and  pathetic  note 
which  runs  through  the  whole  of  the  last  portion  of  Beowulp. 
It  is  no  mere  detail  which  could  be  added  or  subtracted  by 
a  narrator  without  altering  the  essence  of  the  story. 

In  face  of  this  we  must  pronounce  the  two  stories  essentially 
and  originally  distinct.  If,  nevertheless,  there  were  a  large 
number  of  striking  and  specific  similarities,  we  should  have  to 
allow  that,  though  originally  distinct,  the  one  dragon  story  had 
influenced  the  other  in  detail.  For,  whilst  each  poet  who 
retold  the  tale  would  make  alterations  in  detail,  and  might 

1  Volospd,  172-3  in  Corpus  Podicum  Boreale,  i,  200. 

2  Cf.  on  this  Olrik,  HeUedigtning,  i,  305-16. 


SECT,  vii]      Heremod-Lotherus  and  Beowulf-Frotho         97 

import  such  detail  from  one  dragon  story  into  another,  what  we 
know  of  the  method  of  the  ancient  story  tellers  does  not  allow 
us  to  assume  that  a  poet  would  have  altered  the  whole  drift  of 
a  story,  either  by  changing  the  last  death-struggle  of  an  aged, 
childless  prince  into  the  victorious  feat  of  a  young  hero,  or  by 
the  reverse  process. 

Those,  therefore,  who  hold  the  parallels  quoted  above  to  be 
convincing,  may  believe  that  one  dragon  story  has  influenced 
another,  originally  distinct^.  To  me,  it  does  not  appear  that 
even  this  necessarily  follows  from  the  evidence. 

It  seems  very  doubtful  whether  any  of  the  parallels  drawn, 
by  Sievers  between  the  stories  of  Lotherus  and  Heremod^, 
Skioldus  and  Scyld,  Frotho  and  Beowulf,  are  more  than  the 
resemblances  inevitable  in  poetry  which,  like  the  Old  Danish 
and  the  Old  English,  still  retains  so  many  traces  of  the  common 
Germanic  frame  in  which  it  was  moulded. 

Indeed,  of  the  innumerable  dragon-stories  extant,  there  is 
probably  not  one  which  we  can  declare  to  be  really  identical 
with  that  of  Beowulf.  There  is  a  Danish  tradition  which 
shows  many  similarities^,  and  I  have  given  this  below,  in  Part  II ; 
but  rather  as  an  example  of  a  dragon-slaying  of  the  Beowulf 
type,  than  because  I  believe  in  any  direct  connection  between 
the  two  stories. 

1  Panzer,  Beoundf,  313.  * 

2  A  further  and  more  specific  parallel  between  Lotherus  and  Heremod  has 
been  pointed  out  by  Sarrazin  {Anglia,  xix,  392).  It  seems  from  Beotmdf  that 
Heremod  went  into  exile  (11.  1714-15),  and  apparently  mid  Eotenum  (1.  902) 
which  (in  view  of  the  use  of  the  word  Eotena,  Eotenum,  in  the  Finnsburg 
episode)  very  probably  means  "among  the  Jutes."  A  late  Scandinavian 
document  tells  ua  that  Lotherus... superatus  in  Jvtiam  profugit  (Messenius, 
Scondia  illustrata,  printed  1700,  but  written  about  1620). 

*  Pointed  out  by  Panzer.  A  possible  parallel  to  the  old  man  who  hides 
his  treasure  is  discussed  by  Bugge  and  Olrik  in  Dania,  i,  233-245  (1890-92). 


O.  B. 


CHAPTER   III 

THEORIES   AS   TO   THE    ORIGIN,    DATE,    AND 
STRUCTURE    OF   THE   POEM 

Section  I.    Is  "Beowulf"  translated  from  a 
Scandinavian  original? 

Our  poem,  the  first  original  poem  of  any  length  in  the 
English  tongue,  ignores  England.  In  one  remarkable  passage 
(11.1931-62)  it  mentions  with  praise  Offa  I,  the  great  king  who 
ruled  the  Angles  whilst  they  were  still  upon  the  Continent. 
But,  except  for  this,  it  deals  mainly  with  heroes  who,  so  far  as 
we  can  identify  them  with  historic  figures,  are  Scandinavian. 

Hence,  not  unnaturally,  the  first  editor  boldly  declared 
Beowulf  to  be  an  Anglo-S3,xon  version  of  a  Danish  poem ;  and 
this  view  has  had  many  supporters.  The  poem  must  be 
Scandinavian,  said  one  of  its  earliest  translators,  because  it 
deals  mainly  with  Scandinavian  heroes  and  "everyone  knows 
that  in  ancient  times  each  nation  celebrated  in  song  its  own 
heroes  alone^."  And  this  idea,  though  not  so  crudely  expressed, 
seems  really  to  underlie  the  belief  which  has  been  held  by 
numerous  scholars,  that  the  poem  is  nothing  more  than  a 
translation  of  a  poem  in  which  some  Scandinavian  minstrel 
had  glorified  the  heroes  of  his  own  nation. 

But  what  do  we  mean  by  "nation"?  Doubtless,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  politics  and  war,  each  Germanic  tribe,  or 
offshoot  of  a  tribe,  formed  an  independent  nation :  the  Longo- 
bardi  had  no  hesitation  in  helping  the  "Romans"  to  cut  the 
throats  of  their  Gothic  kinsmen:  Penda  the  Mercian  was 
willing  to  ally  with  the  Welshmen  in  order  to  overthrow  his 

*  Cf.  Ettmiiller,  Scopas  and  Boceras,  1850,  p.  ix;   Carmen  de  Beowulfi  rebus 
gestis,  1875,  p.  iii. 


SECT,  i]  Is  "  Beowulf"  a  translation  ?  99 

fellow  Angles  of  Northumbria.  But  all  this,  as  the  history  of 
the  ancient  Greeks  or  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  might  show  us, 
is  quite  compatible  with  a  consciousness  of  racial  unity  among 
the  warring  states,  with  a  common  poetic  tradition  and  a 
common  literature.  For  purposes  of  poetry  there  was  only  one 
nation — the  Germanic — split  into  many  dialects  and  groups, 
but  possessed  of  a  common  metre,  a  common  style,  a  common 
standard  of  heroic  feeling:  and  any  deed  of  valour  performed 
by  any  Germanic  chief  might  become  a  fit  subject  for  the  poetry 
of  any  Germanic  tribe  of  the  heroic  age. 

So,  if  by  "nation"  we  mean  the  whole  Germanic  race,  then 
Germanic  poetry  is  essentially  "national."  The  Huns  were 
the  only  non-Germanic  tribe  who  were  received  (for  poetical 
purposes)  into  Germania.  Hunnish  chiefs  seem  to  have 
adopted  Gothic  manners,  and  after  the  Huns  had  disappeared 
it  often  came  to  be  forgotten  that  they  were  not  Germans. 
But  with  this  exception  the  tribes  and  heroes  of  Germanic 
heroic  poetry  are  Germanic. 

If,  however,  by  "nation"  we  understand  the  different 
warring  units  into  which  the  Germanic  race  was,  politically 
speaking,  divided,  then  Germanic  poetry  is  essentially  "inter- 
national." 

This  is  no  theory,  but  a  fact  capable  of  conclusive  proof. 
The  chief  actors  in  the  old  Norse  Volsung  lays 'are  not  Norsemen, 
but  Sigurd  the  Frank,  Gunnar  the  Burgundian,  Atli  the  Hun. 
In  Continental  Germany,  the  ideal  knight  of  the  Saxons  in 
the  North  and  the  Bavarians  in  the  South  was  no  native  hero, 
but  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth.  So  too  in  England,  whilst 
Beowulf  deals  chiefly  with  Scandinavian  heroes,  the  Finnshurg 
fragment  deals  with  the  Frisian  tribes  of  the  North  Sea  coast  : 
Waldere  with  the  adventures  of  Germanic  chiefs  settled  in 
Gaul,  Deor  with  stories  of  the  Goths  and  of  the  Baltic  tribes, 
whilst  Widsith,  which  gives  us  a  catalogue  of  the  old  heroic 
tales,  shows  that  amongst  the  heroes  whose  names  were  current 
in  England  were  men  of  Gothic,  Burgundian,  Frankish, 
Lombard,  Frisian,  Danish  and  Swedish  race.  There  is  nothing 
peculiar,  then,  in  the  fact  that  Beowulf  celebrates  heroes  who 
were  not  of  Anglian  birth. 

7—2 


100  Is  ^^  Beowiilf"  translated  from  a  [CH.  in 

In  their  old  home  in  Schleswig  the  Angles  had  been  in  the 
-^exact  centre  of  Germania:  with  an  outlook  upon  both  the 
North  Sea  and  the  Baltic,  and  in  touch  with  Scandinavian 
tribes  on  the  North  and  Low  German  peoples  on  the  South* 
That  the  Angles  were  interested  in  the  stories  of  all  the  nations 
which  surrounded  them,  and  that  they  brought  these  stories 
with  them  to  England,  is  certain.  It  is  a  mere  accident  that 
the  one  heroic  poem  which  happens  to  have  been  preserved 
at  length  is  almost  exclusively  concerned  with  Scandinavian 
doings.  It  could  easily  have  happened  that  the  history  of 
the  Beowulf  ms  and  the  WaMere  ms  might  have  been  reversed : 
that  the  Beowulf  might  have  been  cut  up  to  bind  other  books, 
and  the  Waldere  preserved  intact:  in  that  case  our  one  long 
poem  would  have  been  localized  in  ancient  Burgundia,  and 
would  have  dealt  chiefly  with  the  doings  of  Burgundian 
champions.  But  we  should  have  had  no  more  reason,  without 
further  evidence,  to  suppose  the  Waldere  a  translation  from 
the  Burgundian  than  we  have,  without  further  evidence,  to 
suppose  Beowulf  a  translation  from  the  Scandinavian. 

To  deny  that  Beowulf,  as  we  have  it,  is  a  translation  from 
the  Scandinavian  does  not,  of  course,  involve  any  denial  of  the 
Scandinavian  origin  of  the  story  of  Beowulf's  deeds.  The  fact 
that  his  achievements  are  framed  in  a  Scandinavian  setting, 
and  that  the  closest  parallels  to  them  have  to  be  sought  in 
Scandinavian  lands,  makes  it  probable  on  a  priori  grounds 
that  the  story  had  its  origin  there.  On  the  face  of  it,  Miillen- 
hoff's  belief  that  the  story  was  indigenous  among  the  Angles 
is  quite  unlikely.  It  would  seem  rather  to  have  originated  in 
the  Geafcic  country.  But  stories,  whether  in  prose  or  verse, 
would  spread  quickly  from  the  Geatas  to  the  Danes  and  from 
the  Danes  to  the  Angles. 

After  the  Angles  had  crossed  the  North  Sea,  however,  this 
close  intimacy  ceased,  till  the  Viking  raids  again  reminded 
Englishmen,  in  a  very  unpleasant  way,  of  their  kinsmen  across 
the  sea.  Now  linguistic  evidence  tends  to  show  that  Beowulf 
belongs  to  a  time  prior  to  the  Viking  settlement  in  England, 
and  it  is  unlikely  that  the  Scandinavian  traditions  embodied 
in  Beowulf  found  their  way  to  England  just  at  the  time  when 


SECT,  i]  Scandinavian  original?  101 

communication  with  Scandinavian  lands  seems  to  have  been 
suspended.  We  must  conclude  then  that  all  this  Scandinavian 
tradition  probably  spread  to  the  Angles  whilst  they  were  still 
in  their  old  continental  home,  was  brought  across  to  England 
by  the  settlers  in  the  sixth  century,  was  handed  on  by  English 
bards  from  generation  to  generation,  till  some  Englishmen 
formed  the  poem  of  Beowulf  as  we  know  it. 

Of  course,  if  evidence  can  be  produced  that  Beowulf  is 
translated  from  some  Scandinavian  original,  which  was  brought 
over  in  the  seventh  century  or  later,  that  is  another  matter. 
But  the  evidence  produced  so  far  is  not  merely  inconclusive, 
but  ludicrously  inadequate. 

It  has  been  urged^  by  Sarrazin,  the  chief  advocate  of  the 
translation  theory,  that  the  description  of  the  country  round 
Heorot,  and  especially  of  the  journey  to  the  Grendel-lake, 
shows  such  local  knowledge  as  to  point  to  its  having  been 
composed  by  some  Scandinavian  poet  familiar  with  the  locality. 
Heorot  can  probably,  as  we  have  seen,  be  identified  with  Leire : 
and  the  Grrendel-lake  Sarrazin  identifies  with  the  neighbouring 
Eoskilde  fjord.  But  it  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  a  greater 
contrast  than  that  between  the  Koskilde  fjord  and  the  scenery 
depicted  in  11.  1357  etc.,  1408  etc.  Seen,  as  Sarrazin  saw  it,  on 
a  May  morning,  in  alternate  sun  and  shadow,  the  Roskilde 
fjord  presents  a  view  of  tame  and  peaceful  beauty.  In  the 
days  of  Hrothgar,  when  there  were  perhaps  fewer  cultivated 
fields  and  more  beech  forests,  the  scenery  may  have  been  less 
tame,  but  can  hardly  have  been  less  peaceful.  The  only  trace 
of  accurate  geography  is  that  Heorot  is  represented  as  not  on 
the  shore,  and  yet  not  far  remote  from  it  (11.  307  etc.).  But, 
as  has  been  pointed  out  above,  we  know  that  traditions  of  the 
attack  by  the  Heathobeardan  upon  Heorot  were  current  in 
England:  and  these  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  keep  alive, 
even  among  English  bards,  some  remembrance  of  the  strategic 
situation  of  Heorot  with  regard  to  the  sea.  A  man  need  not 
have  been  near  Troy,  to  realize  that  the  town  was  no  seaport 
and  yet  near  the  sea. 

1  P.B.B.  XI,  167-170. 


102  Is  ^'Beoivulf"  translated  from  a  [CH.  iii 

Again,  it  has  been  claimed  by  Sarrazin  that  the  language 
of  Beowulf  shows  traces  of  the  Scandinavian  origin  of  the  poem. 
Sarrazin's  arguments  on  this  head  have  been  contested  ener- 
getically by  Sievers^.  After  some  heated  controversy  Sarrazin 
made  a  final  and  (presumably)  carefully-weighed  statement  of 
his  case.  In  this  he  gave  a  list  of  twenty-nine  words  upon  which 
he  based  his  belief^.  Yet  of  these  twenty-nine,  twenty-one 
occur  in  other  O.E.  writings,  where  there  can  be  no  possible 
question  of  translation  from  the  Scandinavian :  some  of  these 
words,  in  fact,  are  amongst  the  commonest  of  O.E.  poetical 
expressions.  There  remain  eight  which  do  not  happen  to  be 
found  elsewhere  in  the  extant  remains  of  O.E.  poetry.  But 
these  are  mostly  compounds  like  hea&o-ldc,  feorh-seoc:  and 
though  the  actual  compound  is  not  elsewhere  extant  in  English, 
the  component  elements  are  thoroughly  English.  There  is  no 
reason  whatever  to  think  that  these  eight  rare  words  are  taken 
from  Old  Norse.  Indeed,  three  of  them  do  not  occur  in  Old 
Norse  at  all. 

Evidence  to  prove  Beowulf  a  translation  from  a  Scandi- 
navian original  is,  then,  wanting.     On  the  other  hand,  over 
and  above  the  difficulty  that  the  Beowulf  belongs  just  to  the 
period  when  intimate  communication  between  the  Angles  and 
Scandinavians  was  suspended,  there  is  much  evidence  against 
the  translation  theory.     The  earliest  Scandinavian  poetry  we 
possess,  or  of  which  we  can  get  information,  differs  absolutely 
Ni  from  Beowulf  in  style,  metre  and  sentiment :   the  manners  of 
Beowulf  are  incompatible  with  all  we  know  of  the  wild  heathen- 
dom   of    Scandinavia    in    the    seventh    or   eighth    century^. 
.    Beowulf  as  we  now  have  it,  with  its  Christian  references  and 
\  its  Latin  loan-words,  could  not  be  a  translation  from  the  Scandi- 
navian.    And  the  proper  names  in  Beowulf  which  Sarrazin 
claimed  were  Old  Norse,  not  Old  English,  and  had  been  taken 

1  Sarrazin,  Der  Schauplatz  des  ersten  Beovmlfliedes  (P.B.B.  xi,  170  etc.)t 
Sievers,  Die  Heimat  des  Beovmlfdichters  {P.B.B.  xi,  354  etc.);  Sarrazin,  Altnord- 
isches  im  Beotmlfliede  {P.B.B.  xi,  528  etc.);  Sievers^  Altnordisches  im  Beovmlf? 
{P.B.B.  xn,  168  etc.)  2  Beovulf-Studien,  68. 

2  Sarrazin  has  countered  this  argument  by  urging  that  since  the  present 
day  Swedes  and  Danes  have  better  manners  than  the  English,  they  therefore 
presumably  had  better  manners  abeady  in  the  eighth  century.  I  admit  the 
premises,  but  deny  the  deduction. 


SECT,  i]  Scandinavian  original?  103 

over  from  the  Old  Norse  original,  are  in  all  cases  so  correctly 
transliterated  as  to  necessitate  the  assumption  that  they  were 
brought  across  early,  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Britain 
or  very  shortly  after,  and  underwent  phonetic  development 
side  by  side  with  the  other  words  in  the  English  language. 
Had  they  been  brought  across  from  Scandinavia  at  a  later  date, 
much  confusion  must  have  ensued  in  the  forms. 

Somewhat  less  improbable  is  the  suggestion  "  that  the  poet 
had  travelled  on  the  continent  and  become  familiar  with  the 
legends  of  the  Danes  and  Geats,  or  else  had  heard  them  from 
a  Scandinavian  resident  in  England^."  But  it  is  clear  from 
the  allusive  manner  in  which  the  Scandinavian  tales  are  told, 
that  they  must  have  been  familiar  to  the  poet's  audience. 
If,  then,  the  English  audience  knew  them,  why  must  the  poet 
himself  have  travelled  on  the  continent  in  order  to  know  them  ? 
There  is,  therefore,  no  need  for  this  theory,  and  it  is  open  to 
many  of  the  objections  of  the  translation  theory:  for  example 
it  fails,  equally  with  that  theory,  to  account  for  the  uniformly 
correct  development  of  the  proper  names. 

The  obvious  conclusion  is  that  these  Scandinavian  traditions 
were  brought  over  by  the  English  settlers  in  the  sixth  century. 
Against  this  only  one  cavil  can  be  raised,  and  that  will  not 
bear  examination.  It  has  been  objected  that,  since  Hygelac's 
raid  took  place  about  516,  since  Beowulf's  accession  was  some 
years  subsequent,  and  since  he  then  reigned  fifty  years,  his 
death  cannot  be  put  much  earlier  than  575,  and  that  this 
brings  us  to  a  date  when  the  migration  of  the  Angles  and 
Saxons  had  been  completed^.  But  it  is  forgotten  that  all  the 
historical  events  mentioned  in  the  poem,  which  we  can  date, 
occur  before,  or  not  very  long  after,  the  raid  of  Hygelac,  c.  516. 
The  poem  asserts  that  fifty  years  after  these  events  Beowulf 
slew  a  dragon  and  was  slain  by  it.  But  this  does  not  make  the 
dragon  historic,  nor  does  it  make  the  year  575  the  historic 
date  of  the  death  of  Beowulf.  We  cannot  be  sure  that  there 
was  any  actual  king  of  the  Geatas  named  Beowulf;  and  if 
there  was,  the  last  known  historic  act  with  which  that  king  is 
associated  is  the  raising  of  Eadgils  to  the  Swedish  throne, 

*  Sedgefield,  Beowulf  (1st  ed.),  p.  27.  ^  Schiick,  Studier  i  Beovulfsagan,  41. 


104  Is  "Beotmlf"  a  translation?  [CH.  iii 

c.  525 :    the  rest  of  Beowulf's  long  reign,  since  it  contains  no 
event  save  the  slaying  of  a  dragon,  has  no  historic  validity. 

It  is  noteworthy  that,  whereas  there  is  full  knowledge 
shown  in  our  poem  of  those  events  which  took  place  in  Scandi- 
navian lands  during  the  whole  period  from  about  450  to  530 
— the  period  during  which  hordes  of  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes 
were  landing  in  Britain — there  is  no  reference,  not  even  by 
way  of  casual  allusion,  to  any  continental  events  which  we 
can  date  with  certainty  as  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  the 
latest  settlers  from  the  continent.  Surely  this  is  strong 
evidence  that  these  tales  were  brought  over  by  some  of  the 
last  of  the  invaders,  not  carried  to  England  by  some  casual 
traveller  a  century  or  two  later. 


^      Section  II.    The  dialect,  syntax,  and  metre  of 
"  Beowulf  "  as  evidence  of  its  literary  history. 

A  full  discussion  of  the  dialect,  metre  and  syntax  of  Beowulf 
forms  no  part  of  the  scheme  of  this  study.  It  is  only  intended 
in  this  section  to  see  how  far  such  investigations  throw  light 
upon  the  literary  history  of  the  poem. 

Dialect. 

Beowulf  is  written  in  the  late  West  Saxon  dialect.  Im- 
bedded in  the  poem,  however,  are  a  large  number  of  forms, 
concerning  which  this  at  least  can  be  said — that  they  are  not 
normal  late  West  Saxon.  Critics  have  classified  these  forms, 
and  have  drawn  conclusions  from  them  as  to  the  history  of  the 
poem:  arguing  from  sporadic  "Mercian"  and  "Kentish"  forms 
that  Beowulf  is  of  Mercian  origin  and  has  passed  through  the 
hands  of  a  Kentish  transcriber. 

But,  in  fact,  the  evidence  as  to  Old  English  dialects  is  more 
scanty  and  more  conflicting  than  philologists  have  always 
been  willing  to  admit.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  say  with 
any  certainty  what  forms  are  "Mercian"  and  what  "Kentish." 
Having  run  such  forms  to  earth,  it  is  still  more  difficult  to 
say  what  arguments  are  to  be  drawn  from  their  occasional 


SECT,  ii]  The  dialect y  metre,  and  syntax  of^^BeowvJf''    105 

appearance  in  any  text.  Men  from  widely  different  parts  of  the 
country  would  be  working  together  in  the  scriptorium  of  one 
and  the  same  monastery,  and  this  fact  alone  may  have  often 
led  to  confusion  in  the  dialectal  forms  of  works  transcribed. 

A  thorough  investigation  of  the  significance  of  all  the 
abnormal  forms  in  Beowulf  has  still  to  be  made.  Whether  it 
would  repay  the  labour  of  the  investigator  may  well  be  ques- 
tioned. In  the  meantime  we  may  accept  the  view  that  t 
poem  was  in  all  probability  originally  written  in  some  no 
IWest-Saxon  dialect,  and  most  probably  in  an  Anglian  dialec<?> 
since  this  is  confirmed  by  the  way  in  which  the  Anglian  hero 
Offa  is  dragged  into  the  story. 

Ten  Brink's  attempt  to  decide  the  dialect  and  transmission  of 
Beowulf  will  be  found  in  his  Beowulf,  pp.  237-241:  he  notes  the 
difficulty  that  the  "Kentish"  forms  from  which  he  argues  are  nearly 
aU  such  as  occur  also  sporadically  in  West  Saxon  texts.  A  classi- 
fication of  the  forms  by  P.  G.  Thomas  will  be  found  in  the  Modem 
Language  Review ,  i,  202  etc.  How  difficult  and  uncertain  aU  classi- 
fication must  be  has  been  shown  by  Frederick  Tupper  {Pvh.  Mod. 
Lang.  Assoc,  Amer.  xxvi,  235  e<c. ;   J.E,O.R^ja^^%^^S^  "T^  *> 

''LichtenheldYTestr    ^  •  ^^-M  ^  \  '^\^ 

Somewhat  more  definite  results  can  be  drawn  from  certain 
syntactical  usages.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  as  time  went 
on,  the  use  of  se,  seo,  p^t  became  more  and  more  common  in 
O.E.  verse.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  older 
poems  the  weak  adjective  H-  noun  appears  frequently  where  we 
should  now  use  the  definite  article :  wisa  fengel — "  the  wise 
prince";  se  wisa  fengel  is  used  where  some  demonstrative  is 
needed — "that  wise  prince."  Later,  however,  se,  seo,  past 
comes  to  be  used  in  the  common  and  vague  sense  in  which  the 
definite  article  is  used  in  Modern  English. 

We  consequently  get  with  increasing  frequency  the  use  of  \ 
the  definite  article  +  weak  adjective  +  noun :  whilst  the  usage  ^ 
weak  adjective  +  noun  decreases.  Some  rough  criterion  of  date 
can  thus  be  obtained  by  an  examination  of  a  poet's  usage  in 
this  particular.  Of  course  it  would  be  absurd — as  has  been 
done — to  group  Old  English  poems  in  a  strict  chronological 
order  according  to  the  proportion  of  forms  with  and  without 
the  article.     Individual  usage  must  count  for  a  good  deal: 


106      The  dialect f  syntax,  and  metre  of  ^^ Beowulf  "    [CH.  iii 

also  the  scribes  in  copying  and  recopying  our  text  must  to 
a  considerable  extent  have  obliterated  the  earlier  practice. 
Metre  and  syntax  combine  to  make  it  probable  that,  in  line  ^ 
of  our  poem,  the  scribe  has  inserted  the  unnecessary  article 
para  before  ymhsittendra :  and  in  the  rare  cases  where  we  have 
an  O.E.  poem  preserved  in  two  texts,  a  comparison  proves 
that  the  scribe  has  occasionally  interpolated  an  article.  But 
this  later  tendency  to  level  out  the  peculiarity  only  makes  it 
the  more  remarkable  that  we  should  find  such  great  differences 
between  O.E.  poems,  all  of  them  extant  in  copies  transcribed 
about  the  year  1000. 

How  great  is  the  difference  between  the  usage  of  Beowulf 
and  that  of  the  great  body  of  Old  English  poetry  will  be  clear 
from  the  following  statistics. 

The  proportion  of  phrases  containing  the  weak  adjective  + 
noun  with  and  without  the  definite  article  in  the  certain  works 
of  Cynewulf  is  as  follows^: 

With  article        Without  article 

Juliana     27  3 

I  Christ  (II)           ...         28  3 

Elene        66  9 

In  Guthlac  (A)  (c.  750)  the  proportions  are : 

With  article        Without  article 
Guthlac  (A)  ...        42  6 

Contrast  this  with  the  proportion  in  our  poem: 

With  article         Without  article 
Beowulf .13  65 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  proportions  of  Beowulf  is  in 
the  (certainly  very  archaic) 

With  article        Without  article 

Exodus      10  14 

On  the  other  hand,  certain  late  texts  show  how  fallible  this 
criterion  is.  Anyone  dating  Maldon  solely  by  "  Lichtenheld's 
Test"  would  assuredly  place  it  much  earher  than  991. 

^  The  brief  Fata  Apostolorum  is  doubted  by  Sievers  {Anglia,  xin,  24). 


p 


SECT,  ii]         as  evidence  of  its  literary  history  107 

It  is  easy  to  make  a  false  use  of  grammatical  statistics:  j 
and  this  test  should  only  be  applied  with  the  greatest  caution,  i 
But  the  difference  between  Beowulf  and  the  works  of  Cynewulf  i 
is  too  striking  to  be  overlooked.  In  Beowulf,  to  every  five  i 
examples  without  the  article  (e.g.  hea^o-steapa  helm)  we  have 
one  with  the  article  (e.g.  se  kearda  helm) :  in  Cynewulf  to  every 
five  examples  without  the  article  we  h3bve  forty  with  it. 

A  further  test  of  antiquity  is  in  the  use  of  the  weak  adjective 
with  the  instrumental — a  use  which  rapidly  diminishes. 

There  are  eighteen  such  instrumental  phrases  in  Beowulf 
(3182  lines)^.  In  Exodus  (589  lines)  there  are  six  examples^ 
— proportionally  more  than  in  Beowulf  In  Cynewulf's  un- 
doubted works  (c.  2478  lines)  there  is  one  example  only, 
heorhtan  reorde^.  ' 

This  criterion  of  the  absence  of  the  definite  article  before  the  weak  N 
adjective  is  often  referred  to  as  Lichtenheld's  Test  (see  article  hy  y 
him  in  Z.f.d.A.  xvi,  325  etc.).     It  has  been  apphed  to  the  whole  body 
of   O.E.   poetry  by  Barnouw  {Textcritische   Untersitchungen,   1902). 
The  data  collected  by  Barnouw  are  most  valuable,  but  we  must  be 
cautious  in  the  conclusions  we  draw,  as  is  shown  by  Sarrazin  {Eng, 
Stud,  xxxvin,  145  etc.),  and  Tupper  {Pvb.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  xxvi, 
274). 
""^  Exact  enumeration  of  instances  is  difficult.     For  example,  Lichten- 

held  gave  22  instances  of  definite  article  +  weak  adjective  +  noun  in 
Beowulf*.  But  eight  of  these  are  not  quite  certain;  se  goda  maeg 
Hygeldces  may  be  not  "the  good  kinsman  of  Hygelac,"  but  "the  good 
one — the  kinsman  of  Hygelac,"  for  there  is  the  haK  Une  pause  after 
goda.  These  eight  examples  therefore  should  be  deducted^.  One 
instance,  though  practically  certain,  is  the  result  of  conjectural  emen- 
dation^  Of  the  remaining  thirteen'  three  are  variations  of  the 
same  phrase. 

The  statistics  given  above  are  those  of  Brandl  {SitzungsbericTiie 
d.  k.  Preuss.  ATcad.  d.  Wissenschaften,  1905,  p.  719)  which  are  based 
upon  those  of  Barnouw. 

"Morsbach's  Test." 

Sievers'  theories  as  to  O.E.  metre  have  not  been  accepted 
by  all  scholars  in  their  entirety.     But  the  statistics  which  he 

1  Two  of  these  occur  twice ;  Mtan  heolfre,  1423,  849 ;  nlowan  stefne,  1789, 
2594;  the  rest  once  only,  141,  661,  963,  977,  1104,  1502,  1505,  1542,  1746, 
2102,  2290,  2347,  2440,  2482,  2492,  2692.     See  Barnouw,  51. 

2  74,  99,  122,  257,  390,  412.       _  '  Christ,  510. 

*  Lichtenheld  omits  2011,  se  rrmra  mago  Healf denes,  inserting  instead  1474, 
where  the  same  phrase  occurs,  but  with  a  vocative  force, 

^  758,  813,  2011,  2587,  2928,  2971,  2977,  3120.  «  1199. 

7  102,  713,  919,  997,  1016,  1448,  1984,  2255,  2264,  2675,  3024,  3028,  3097, 


108      Tfie  dialect  J  syntax,  and  metre  of  ^^  Beowulf  "  [CH.  iii 

collected  enable  us  to  say,  with  absolute  certainty,  that  some 
given  types  of  verse  were  not  acceptable  to  the  ear  of  an  Old 
English  bard. 

Sceptics  may  emphasize  the  fact  that  Old  English  texts  are 
uncertain,  that  nearly  all  poems  are  extant  in  one  ms  only, 
that  the  ms  in  each  case  was  written  down  long  after  the  poems 
were  composed,  and  that  precise  verbal  accuracy  is  therefore 
not  to  be  expected^.  All  the  more  remarkable  then  becomes 
the  fact,  for  it  is  a  fact,  that  there  are  certain  types  of  line 
which  never  occur  in  Beowulf,  and  that  there  are  other  types 
which  are  exceedingly  rare.  Again,  there  are  certain  types  of 
line  which  do  occur  in  Beowulf  as  we  have  it,  though  they 
seem  contrary  to  the  principles  of  O.E.  scansion.  When  we 
find  that  such  lines  consistently  contain  some  word  which  had 
a  different  metrical  value  when  our  extant  ms  of  Beowulf  was 
transcribed,  from  that  which  it  had  at  the  earlier  date  when 
Beowulf  was  composed,  and  that  the  earlier  value  makes  the 
line  metrical,  the  conclusion  is  obvious.  Beowulf  must  have 
been  composed  at  a  time  or  in  a  dialect  when  the  earlier 
metrical  values  held  good. 

But  we  reach  a  certain  date  beyond  which,  if  we  put  the 
language  back  into  its  older  form,  it  will  no  longer  fit  into  the 
metrical  structure.  For  example,  words  like  fiod,  feld,  eard 
were  originally  "u-nouns" :  with  nom.  and  ace.  smg.flodu,  etc. 
But  the  half -line  ofer  fealone  flod  (1950)  becomes  exceedingly 
difficult  if  we  put  it  in  the  form  ofer  fealone  flodu^ :  the  half- 
line  flfelcynnes  eard  becomes  absolutely  impossible  in  the  form 
fifelcynnes  eardu^. 

It  can,  consequently,  with  some  certainty  be  argued  that 
these  half-lines  were  composed  after  the  time  when  flodu,  eardu 
had  become  flod,  eard.  Therefore,  it  has  been  further  argued, 
Beowulf  was  composed  after  that  date.  But  are  we  justified 
in  this  further  step — in  assuming  that  because  a  certain  number 
of  half-lines  in  Beowulf  must  have  been  composed  after  a 
certain  date,  therefore  Beowulf  itself  must  have  been  composed 
after  that  date  ? 

^  Saintsbury  in  Short  History  of  English  Literature,  i.  3. 
2  Morsbach,  270.  »  Morsbach,  271. 


SECT,  ii]         as  evidence  of  its  literary  history  109 

From  what  we  know  of  the  mechanical  way  in  which  the 
Old  English  scribe  worked,  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
he  would  have  consistently  altered  what  he  found  in  an  older 
copy,  so  as  to  make  it  metrical  according  to  the  later  speech 
into  which  he  was  transcribing  it.  But  if  we  go  back  to  a  time 
when  poems  were  committed  to  memory  by  a  scop^  skilled  in 
the  laws  of  O.E.  metre,  the  matter  is  very  different.  A  written 
poem  may  be  copied  word  for  word,  even  though  the  spelling 
is  at  the  same  time  modernized,  but  it  is  obvious  that  a  poem 
preserved  orally  will  be  altered  slightly  from  time  to  time,  if 
the  language  in  which  it  is  written  is  undergoing  changes 
which  make  the  poem  no  longer  metrically  correct. 

Imagine  the  state  of  things  at  the  period  when  final  u  was 
being  lost  after  a  long  syllable.  This  loss  of  a  syllable  would 
make  a  large  number  of  the  half-lines  and  formulas  in  the  old 
poetry  unmetrical.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  the  whole  of  O.E. 
poetry  was  at  once  scrapped,  and  entirely  new  poems  composed 
to  fit  in  with  the  new  sound  laws?  Surely  not;  old  formulas 
would  be  recast,  old  lines  modified  where  they  needed  it,  but 
the  old  poetry  would  go  on^,  with  these  minor  verbal  changes 
adapting  it  to  the  new  order  of  things.  We  can  see  this  taking 
place,  to  a  limited  extent,  in  the  transcripts  of  Middle  English 
poems.  In  the  transmission  of  poems  by  word  of  mouth  it 
would  surely  take  place  to  such  an  extent  as  to  baffle  later 
investigation^. 

Consequently  I  am  inclined  to  agree  that  this  test  is  hardly 
final  except  "  on  the  assumption  that  the  poems  were  written 
down  from  the  very  beginning^."  And  we  are  clearly  not  justified 
in  making  any  such  assumption.  A  small  number  of  such  lines 
would  accordingly  give,  not  so  much  a  means  of  fixing  a  period 
before  which  Beowulf  cannot  have  been  composed,  as  merely 

^  Chadwick,  Heroic  Age,  4. 

2  "Thus  in  place  of  the  expression  to  widanfeore  we  find  occasionally  tvidan 
feme  in  the  same  sense,  and  even  in  Beowulf  we  meet  with  widan  feorh,  which 
is  not  improbably  the  oldest  form  of  the  phrase.  Before  the  loss  of  the  final 
-u  it  [widan  feorhu]  would  be  a  perfectly  regular  half  verse,  but  the  operation 
of  this  change  would  render  it  impossible  and  necessitate,  the  substitution  of 
a  synonymous  expression.  In  principle,  it  should  be  observed,  the  assumption 
of  such  substitutions  seems  to  be  absolutely  necessary,  unless  we  are  prepared 
to  deny  that  any  old  poems  or  even  verses  survived  the  period  of  apocope." 
Chadwick,  Heroic  Age,  pp.  46-7.  *  Heroic  Age,  46. 


110     The  dialect  J  syntax,  and  metre  of  ^Beowulf    [ch.  hi 

one  before  which  Beowulf  cannot  have  been  fixed  by  writing 
in  its  present  form. 

If,  however,  more  elaborate  investigation  were  to  show  that 
the  percentage  of  such  lines  is  just  as  great  in  Beowulf  as  it  is 
in  poems  certainly  written  after  the  sound  changes  had  taken 
place,  it  might  be  conceded  that  the  test  was  a  valid  one,  and 
that  it  proved  Beowulf  to  have  been  written  after  these  sound 
changes  occurred. 

This  would  then  bring  us  to  our  second  difficulty.  At  what 
date  exactly  did  these  sound  changes  take  place?  The  chief 
documents  available  are  the  proper  names  in  Bede's  History, 
and  in  certain  Latin  charters,  the  glosses,  and  a  few  early 
runic  inscriptions.  Most  important,  although  very  scanty,  are 
the  charters,  since  they  bear  a  date.  With  these  we  proceed 
to  investigate: 

A.  The  dropping  of  the  u  after  a  long  accented  syllable 
(flodu  becoming  flSd),  or  semi-accented  syllable  {Stdnfdrdu 
becoming  Stdnfdrd). 

There  is  evidence  from  an  Essex  charter  that  this  was  already 
lost  in  692  or  693  (uuidmundesfelt)^.  From  this  date  on,  ex- 
amples without  the  u  are  forthcoming  in  increasing  number^. 
One  certain  example  only  has  been  claimed  for  the  preservation 
of  u.  In  the  runic  inscription  on  the  "Franks  casket"  flodu 
is  found  for  flod.  But  the  spelling  of  the  Franks  casket  is 
erratic:  for  example  giupeasu  is  also  found  ioi  giuj^eas,  "the 
Jews."  Now  u  here  is  impossible^,  and  we  must  conclude 
perhaps  that  the  inscriber  of  the  runes  intended  to  write  giupea 
su\7n(B\^  or  giufiea  su[na]^y  "some  of  the  Jews,"  "the  sons  of 
the  Jews,"  and  that  having  reached  the  end  of  his  line  at  w, 
he  neglected  to  complete  the  word:  or  else  perhaps  that  he 
wrote  giupeas  and  having  some  additional  space  added  a  u 
at  the  end  of  his  line,  just  for  fun.     Whichever  explanation  we 

1  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  No.  81.     See  Morsbach,  260. 

2  The  most  important  examples  being  breguntford  (Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  No.  115, 
dating  between  693  and  731;  perhaps  705):  heffled  in  the  life  of  St  Gregory 
written  by  a  Whitby  monk  apparently  before  713:  -gar  on  the  Bewcastle 
Column,  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighth  century  and 
perhaps  much  earlier :  and  many  names  in  ford  and  feld  in  the  Moore  MS  of 
Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History  (a  MS  written  about  737). 

3  An  EngHsh  Miscellany  presented  to  Dr  Furnivall,  370. 
*  Grienberger,  Anglia,  xxvn,  448. 


SECT,  ii]         as  evidence  of  its  literary  history  111 

adopt,  it  will  apply  to  flodu,  which  equally  comes  at  the  end 
of  a  line,  and  the  u  of  which  may  equally  have  been  part  of 
some  following  word  which  was  never  completed^. 

Other  linguistic  data  of  the  Franks  casket  would  lead  us  to 
place  it  somewhere  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighth  century,  and 
we  should  hardly  expect  to  find  u  preserved  as  late  as  this^. 
For  we  have  seen  that  by  693  the  u  was  already  lost  after  a 
subordinate  accent  in  the  Essex  charter.  Yet  it  is  arguable 
that  the  u  was  retained  later  after  a  long  accented  syllable 
{flddu)  than  after  a  subordinate  accent  (uuidmundesfelt) ;  and, 
besides,  the  casket  is  Northumbrian,  and  the  sound  changes 
need  not  have  been  simultaneous  all  over  the  country. 

We  cannot  but  feel  that  the  evidence  is  pitifully  scanty. 
All  we  can  say  is  that  perhaps  the  flodu  of  the  Franks  casket 
shows  that  u  was  stUl  preserved  after  a  fully  accented  syllable 
as  late  as  700.  But  the  u  in  flodu  may  be  a  deliberate  archaism 
on  the  part  of  the  writer,  may  be  a  local  dialectal  survival, 
may  be  a  mere  miswriting. 

5.     The  preservation  of  h  between  consonant  and  vowel. 

Here  there  is  one  clear  example  which  we  can  date:  the 
archaic  spelling  of  the  proper  name  Welhisc.  Signum  manus 
uelhisci  occurs  in  a  Kentish  charter  of  679^.  The  same  charter 
shows  h  already  lost  between  vowels :  uuestan  ae  (ae  dative  of 
ea,  "river,"  cf.  Gothic  ahwa). 

Not  much  can  be  argued  from  the  proper  name  Welhisc^  as 
to  the  current  pronunciation  in  Kent  in  679,  for  an  old  man 
may  well  have  continued  to  spell  his  name  as  it  was  spelt  when 
he  was  a  child,  even  though  the  current  pronunciation  had 
changed*.  But  we  have  further  evidence  in  the  glosses,  which 
show  h  sometimes  preserved  and  sometimes  not.  These 
glosses  are  mechanical  copies  of  an  original  which  was  pre- 
sumably compiled  between  680  and  720.  We  are  therefore 
justified  in  arguing  that  at  that  date  h  was  still  preserved,  at 
any  rate  occasionally. 

^  i.e.  flodu  ahof  might  stand  ioi  flod  u[p]  ahof,  as  is  suggested  by  Chadwick, 
Heroic  Age,  69. 

2  In  the  Franks  casket  6  already  appears  as/,  and  the  n  of  sefu,  "seven," 
has  been  lost.  3  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  No.  45. 

*  Chadwick,  Heroic  Age,  67 :  "In  personal  names  we  must  clearly  allow  for 
traditional  orthography."     Morsbach  admits  this  in  another  connection  (p.  259). 


\ 


112     The  dialect,  syntax,  and  metre  of  ^^  Beowulf"    [ch.  hi 

Of  "Morsbach's  test"  we  can  then  say  that  it  establishes 
something  of  an  argument  that  Beowulf  was  composed  after 
the  date  when  final  u  after  a  long  syllable,  or  h  between  consonant 
and  vowel,  were  lost,  and  that  this  date  was  probably  within 
a  generation  or  so  of  the  year  700  a.d.  But  there  are  too 
many  uncertain  contingencies  involved  to  make  the  test  at  all 
a  conclusive  one. 

Morsbach's  Zur  Datierung  des  Beowulf-epos  will  be  found  in  th© 
Gottingen  Nachrichten,  1906,  pp.  252-77.  These  tests  have  been 
worked  out  for  the  whole  body  of  Old  English  poetry  in  the  Chrono- 
logische  Studien  of  Carl  Richter,  Halle,  1910. 


Section  III.    Theokies  as  to  the  structure  of 
"Beowulf." 

Certain  peculiarities  in  the  structure  of  Beowulf  can  hardly 
fail  to  strike  the  reader.  (1)  The  poem  is  not  a  biography 
of  Beowulf,  nor  yet  an  episode  in  his  life:  it  is  two  distinct 
episodes:  the  Grendel  business  and  the  dragon  business, 
joined  by  a  narrow  bridge.  (2)  Both  these  stories  are  broken 
in  upon  by  digressions :  some  of  these  concern  Beowulf  himself, 
so  that  we  get  a  fairly  complete  idea  of  the  life  of  our  hero : 
but  for  the  most  part  these  digressions  are  not  strictly  apposite. 

(3)  Even  apart  from  these  digressions,  the  narrative  is  often 
hampered:    the  poet  begins  his  story,  diverges  and  returns. 

(4)  The  traces  of  Christian  thought  and  knowledge  which 
meet  us  from  time  to  time  seem  to  belong  to  a  different  world 
from  that  of  the  Germanic  life  in  which  our  poem  has  its 
roots. 

Now  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  was  widely 
believed  that  the  great  epics  of  the  world  had  been  formed 
from  collections  of  original  shorter  lays  fitted  together  (often 
unskilfully)  by  later  redactors.  For  a  critic  starting  from  this 
assumption,  better  material  than  the  Beowulf  could  hardly  be 
found.  And  it  was  with  such  assumptions  that  Carl  Miillenhoff, 
the  greatest  of  the  scholars  who  have  dissected  the  Beowulf  set 
to  work.     He  attended  the  lectures  of  Lachmann,  and  formed. 


SECT.  Ill]    Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^Beowvlf"    113 

ja  biographer  tells  us,  the  fixed  resolve  to  do  for  one  epic  what 
his  admired  master  had  done  for  another^. 

Miillenhoff  claimed  for  his  theories  that  they  were  simple^ 
and  straightforward :  and  so  they  were,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to 
assume  as  a  basis  that  the  Beowulf  \^  made  up  out  of  shorter  lays, 
and  that  the  only  business  of  the  critic  is  to  define  the  scope 
of  these  lays.  In  the  story  of  Beowulf's  fight  with  Grendel 
(11.194-836 :  Miillenhoff's  Sect.  I)  and  with  the  dragon  (11.  2200- 
3183:  Miillenhoff's  Sect.  IV)  Miillenhoff  saw  the  much  inter- 
polated remains  of  two  original  lays  by  different  authors. 
But,  before  it  was  united  to  the  dragon  story,  the  Grendel 
story,  Miillenhoff  held,  had  already  undergone  many  inter- 
polations and  additions.  The  story  of  Grendel's  mother 
(11.  837-1623:  Sect.  II)  was  added,  Miillenhoff  held,  by  one 
continuator  as  a  sequel  to  the  story  of  Grendel,  and  11.  1-193 
were  added  by  another  hand  as  an  introduction.  Then  this 
Grendel  story  was  finally  rounded  off  by  an  interpolator  (A) 
who  added  the  account  of  Beowulf's  return  home  (Sect.  Ill, 
11.  1629-2199)  and  at  the  same  time  inserted  passages  into 
the  poem  throughout.  Finally  came  Interpolator  B,  who  was 
the  first  to  combine  the  Grendel  story,  thus  elaborated,  with 
the  dragon  story.  Interpolator  B  was  responsible  for  the 
great  bulk  of  the  interpolations:  episodes  from  other  cycles 
and  "theologizing"  matter. 

Ten  Brink,  like  Miillenhoff,  regarded  the  poem  as  falling 
into  four  sections :  the  Grendel  fight,  the  fight  with  Grendel's 
mother,  the  return  home,  the  dragon  fight.  But  Miillenhoff 
had  imagined  the  epic  composed  out  of  one  set  of  lays:  in- 
coherences, he  thought,  were  due  to  the  bungling  of  successive 
interpolators.  Ten  Brink  assumed  that  in  the  case  of  all 
three  fights,  with  Grendel,  with  Grendel's  mother,  and  with 
the  dragon,  there  had  been  two  parallel  versions,  which  a 
later  redactor  had  combined  together,  and  that  it  was  to 
this  combination  that  the  frequent  repetitions  in  the  narra- 

^  Liibke's  preface  to  MiillenhofE's  Beovulf.  Both  the  tendencies  specially 
associated  with  Miillenhoff's  name — the  " mythologizing "  and  the  "dissecting  " — 
are  due  to  the  influence  of  Lachmann.  It  must  be  frankly  admitted  that  on 
these  subjects  Miillenhoff  did  not  begin  his  studies  with  an  open  mind. 

2  "Es  ist  einfach  genug" — Beovulf,  110. 

c.  B.  8 


114        Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^Beoimd/"    [ch.  hi 

tive  were  due:  he  believed  that  not  only  were  the  different 
episodes  of  the  poem  originally  distinct,  but  that  each  episode 
was  compounded  of  two  originally  distinct  lays,  combined 
together. 

Now  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  process  postulated  by 
Miillenholf  might  have  taken  place:  a  lay  on  Grendel  and  a 
lay  on  the  dragon-fight  might  have  been  combined  by  some 
later  compiler.  Ten  Brink's  theory,  too,  is  inherently  not 
improbable :  that  there  should  have  been  two  or  more  versions 
current  of  a  popular  story  is  probable  enough:  that  a  scribe 
should  have  tried  to  fit  these  two  parallel  versions  together  is 
not  without  precedent:  very  good  examples  of  such  attempts 
at  harmonizing  different  versions  can  be  got  from  an  examina- 
tion of  the  Mss  of  Piers  Plowman. 

It  is  only  here  and  there  that  we  are  struck  by  an  inherent 
improbability  in  MUllenhoff's  scheme.  Thus  the  form  in  which 
Miillenhoff  assumes  the  poem  to  have  existed  before  Inter- 
polator A  set  to  work  on  it,  is  hardly  a  credible  one.  The 
"original  poet"  has  brought  Beowulf  from  his  home  to  the 
Danish  court,  to  slay  Grendel,  and  the  "  continuator "  has  taken 
him  to  the  haunted  lake:  Beowulf  has  plunged  down,  slain 
Grendel's  mother,  come  back  to  land.  Here  Miillenhoff  be- 
lieved the  poem  to  have  ended,  until  "Interpolator  A"  came 
along,  and  told  how  Beowulf  returned  in  triumph  to  Hrothgar, 
was  thanked  and  rewarded,  and  then  betook  himself  home, 
and  was  welcomed  by  Hygelac.  That  it  would  have  been 
left  to  an  interpolator  to  supply  what  from  the  old  point  of 
view  was  so  necessary  a  part  of  the  story  as  the  return  to 
Hrothgar  is  an  assumption  perilous  indeed.  "An  epic  poem 
only  closes  when  everything  is  really  concluded:  not,  like 
a  modern  novel,  at  a  point  where  the  reader  can  imagine  the 
rest  for  himself^." 

Generally  speaking,  however,  the  theories  of  the  "  dissecting 
school"  are  not  in  themselves  faulty,  if  we  admit  the  assump- 
tions on  which  they  rest.  They  fail  however  in  two  ways. 
An  examination  of  the  short  lay  and  the  long  epic,  so  far  as 
these  are  represented  in  extant  documents,  does  not  bear  out 

1  MoUer,  V.E.  140:  cf.  Schiicking,  B.R.  14. 


SECT.  Ill]    Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^ Beowulf"     115 

well  the  assumptions  of  the  theorizers.  Secondly,  the  minute 
scrutiny  to  which  the  poem  has  been  subjected  in  matters  of 
syntax,  metre,  dialect  and  tradition  has  failed  to  show  any 
difference  between  the  parts  attributed  to  the  different  authors, 
such  as  we  must  certainly  have  expected  to  find,  had  the 
theories  of  the  "dissecting  school"  been  correct. 

That  behind  our  extant  Beowulf,  and  connecting  it  with 
the  events  of  the  sixth  century,  there  must  have  been  a  number 
of  older  lays,  may  indeed  well  be  admitted :  also  that  to  these 
lays  our  poem  owes  its  plot,  its  traditions  of  metre  and  its 
phraseology,  and  perhaps  (but  this  is  a  perilous  assumption) 
continuous  passages  of  its  text.  But  what  Miillenhoff  and 
ten  Brink  go  on  to  assume  is  that  these  original  oral  lays  were 
simple  in  outUne  and  treated  a  single  well-defined  episode  in 
a  straightforward  manner;  that  later  redactors  and  scribes 
corrupted  this  primitive  simplicity;  but  that  the  modern 
critic,  by  demanding  it,  and  using  its  presence  or  absence  as 
a  criterion,  can  still  disentangle  from  the  complex  composite 
poem  the  simpler  elements  out  of  which  it  was  bmlt  up. 

Here  are  rather  large  assumptions.  What  right  have  we 
to  postulate  that  this  primitive  "literature  without  letters i," 
these  short  oral  ballads  and  lays,  dealt  with  a  single  episode 
without  digression  or  confusion :  whilst  the  later  age, — the 
civilized.  Christianized  age  of  written  literature  during  which 
Beowulf  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it  was  produced, 
— is  assumed  to  have  been  tolerant  of  both? 

No  doubt,  here  and  there,  in  different  literatures,  groups  of 
short  lays  can  be  found  which  one  can  imagine  might  be  com- 
bined into  an  orderly  narrative  poem,  without  much  hacking 
about.  But  on  the  other  hand  a  short  lay  will  often  tell,  in  less 
than  a  hundred  lines,  a  story  more  complex  than  that  of  the 
Iliad  or  the  Odyssey.  Its  shortness  may  be  due,  not  to  any 
limitation  in  the  scope  of  the  plot,  but  rather  to  the  passionate 
haste  with  which  it  rushes  through  a  long  story.  It  is  one 
thing  to  admit  that  there  must  have  been  short  lays  on  the 
story  of  Beowulf :  it  is  another  to  assume  that  these  lays  were 
of  such  a  character  that  nothing  was  needed  but  compilers 

1  Earle,  Deeds  of  Beowulf,  xlix  (an  excellent  criticism  of  Miillenhoff). 

8—2 


116       Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^'Beowulf"    [CH.  iii 

with  a  taste  for  arrangement  and  interpolation  in  order  to 
turn  tliem  into  the  extant  epic  of  Beowulf. 

When  we  find  nearly  five  hundred  lines  spent  in  describing 
the  reception  of  the  hero  in  Hrothgar's  land,  we  may  well 
doubt  whether  this  passage  can  have  found  its  way  into  our 
poem  through  any  such  process  of  fitting  together  as  Miillenhoff 
postulated.  It  would  be  out  of  scale  in  any  narrative  shorter 
than  the  Beowulf  as  we  have  it.  It  suggests  to  us  that  the 
epic  is  developed  out  of  the  lay,  not  by  a  process  of  fitting 
together,  but  rather  by  a  retelling  of  the  story  in  a  more 
leisurely  way. 

A  comparison  of  extant  short  lays  or  ballads  with  extant 
epics  has  shown  that,  if  these  epics  were  made  by  stringing 
lays  together,  such  lays  must  have  been  different  from  the  great 
majority  of  the  short  lays  now  known.  "The  lays  into  which 
this  theory  dissects  the  epics,  or  which  it  assumes  as  the  sources 
of  the  epics,  differ  in  two  ways  from  extant  lays:  they  deal 
with  short,  incomplete  subjects  and  they  have  an  epic  breadth 
of  stylei." 

It  has  been  shown  by  W.  P.  Ker^  that  a  comparison  of  such 
fragments  as  have  survived  of  the  Germanic  short  lay  (Finns- 
hurg,  Hildehrand)  does  not  bear  out  the  theory  that  the  epic 
is  a  conglomeration  of  such  lays.  "It  is  the  change  and 
development  in  style  rather  than  any  increase  in  the  com- 
plexity of  the  themes  that  accounts  for  the  difference  in  scale 
between  the  shorter  and  the  longer  poems." 

A  similar  conclusion  is  reached  by  Professor  Hart:  "It 
might  be  illuminating  to  base  a  LiedertJieorie  in  part,  at  least, 
upon  a  study  of  existing  Lieder,  rather  than  wholly  upon  an 
attempt  to  dismember  the  epic  in  question.  Such  study 
reveals  indeed  a  certain  similarity  in  kind  of  Ballad  and  Epic, 
but  it  reveals  at  the  same  time  an  enormous  difference  in  degree, 
in  stage  of  development.  If  the  Beowulf,  then,  was  made  up 
of  a  series  of  heroic  songs,  strung  together  with  little  or  na 
modification,  these  songs  must  have  been  something  very 
different  from  the  popular  ballad^." 

*  Heusler,  Lied  u.  Epos,  26.  ^  Epic  and  Romance,  Chap,  n,  §  2. 

8  Ballad  and  Epic,  311-12. 


SECT.  Ill]    Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ''Beowulf"     117 

And  subsequent  investigations  into  the  history  and  folk-lore 
of  our  poem  have  not  confirmed  Mlillenhofi's  theory:  in  some 
cases  indped  they  have  hit  it  very  hard.  When  a  new  light 
was  thrown  upon  the  story  by  the  discovery  of  the  parallels 
between  Beowulf  and  the  Grettis  saga,  it  became  clear  that 
passages  which  MiillenhofE  had  condemned  as  otiose  inter- 
polations were  likely  to  be  genuine  elements  in  the  tale. 
Dr  Olrik's  minute  investigations  into  the  history  of  the  Danish 
kings  have  shown  from  yet  another  point  of  view  how  allusions, 
which  were  rashly  condemned  by  Miillenhoff  and  ten  Brink  as 
idle  amplifications,  are,  in  fact,  essential. 

How  the  investigation  of  the  metre,  form,  and  syntax  of 
Beowulf  has  disclosed  an  archaic  strictness  of  usage  has  been 
explained  above  (Sect.  II).  This  usage  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  practice  of  later  poets  like  Cynewulf.  How  far  we 
are  justified  in  relying  upon  such  differ ences  of  usage  as  criteria 
of  exact  date  is  open  to  dispute.  But  it  seems  clear  that,  had 
MullenhofE's  theories  been  accurate,  we  might  reasonably  have 
expected  to  have  been  able  to  differentiate  between  the  earlier 
and  the  later  strata  in  so  composite  a  poem. 

The  composite  theory  has  lately  been  strongly  supported 
by  Schiickingi.  Schiicking  starts  from  the  fact,  upon  which 
we  are  all  agreed,  that  the  poem  falls  into  two  main  divisions : 
the  story  of  how  Beowulf  at  Heorot  slew  Grendel  and  Grendel's 
mother,  and  the  story  of  the  dragon,  which  fifty  years  later 
he  slew  at  his  home.  These  are  connected  by  the  section 
which  tells  how  Beowulf  returned  from  Heorot  to  his  own 
home  and  was  honourably  received  by  his  king,  Hygelac. 

It  is  now  admitted  that  the  ways  of  Old  English  narrative 
were  not  necessarily  our  ways,  and  that  we  must  not  postulate, 
because  our  poem  falls  into  two  somewhat  clumsily  connected 
sections,  that  therefore  it  is  compounded  out  of  two  originally 
distinct  lays.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Schiicking  rightly 
urges,  instances  are  forthcoming  of  two  O.K  poems  having 
been  clumsily  connected  into  one^.  Therefore,  whilst  no  one 
would  now  urge  that  Beowulf  is  put  together  out  of  two  older 
^  Beovmlfs  Ruckkehr^  1906.  *  e.g.  Genesis, 


118        Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^Beowidf"    [CH.  iii 

lays,  merely  because  it  can  so  easily  be  divided  into  two  sections, 
this  fact  does  suggest  that  a  case  exists  for  examination. 

Now  if  a  later  poet  had  connected  together  two  old  lays, 
one  on  the  Grendel  and  Grendel's  mother  business,  and  one  on 
the  dragon  business,  we  might  fairly  expect  that  this  connecting 
link  would  show  traces  of  a  different  style.  It  is  accordingly 
on  the  connecting  link,  the  story  of  Beowulf  s  Return  and 
reception  by  Hygelac,  that  Schiicking  concentrates  his  at- 
tention, submitting  it  to  the  most  elaborate  tests  to  see  if  it 
betrays  metrical,  stylistic  or  syntactical  divergencies  from  the 
rest  of  the  poem. 

Various  tests  are  applied,  which  admittedly  give  no  result, 
such  as  the  frequency  of  the  repetition  in  the  Return  of  half 
verse  formulas  which  occur  elsewhere  in  Beowulp-,  or  the  way 
in  which  compound  nouns  fit  into  the  metrical  scheme^. 
Metrical  criteria  are  very  little  more  helpful^.  We  have  seen 
that  the  antiquity  of  Beowulf  is  proved  by  the  cases  where 
metre  demands  the  substitution  of  an  older  uncontracted  form 
for  the  existing  shorter  one.  Schiicking  argues  that  no  instance 
occurs  in  the  267  lines  of  the  Return.  But,  even  if  this  were  the 
case,  it  might  well  be  mere  accident,  since  examples  only  occur 
at  rare  intervals  anywhere  in  Beowulf.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  Return^  (quite  up 
to  the  normal  proportion),  though  two  of  the  clearest  come  in 
a  portion  of  it  which  Schiicking  rather  arbitrarily  excludes. 

Coming  to  syntax  in  its  broadest  sense,  and  especially  the 
method  of  constructing  and  connecting  sentences,  Schiicking 
enumerates  several  constructions  which  are  found  in  the 
Return,  but  not  elsewhere  in  Beowulf.  Syntax  is  a  subject  to 
which  he  has  given  special  study,  and  his  opinion  upon  it  must 
be  of  value.  But  I  doubt  whether  anyone  as  expert  in  the 
subject  as  Schiicking  could  not  find  in  every  passage  of  like 
length  in  Beowulf  some  constructions  not  to  be  exactly  paral- 
leled elsewhere  in  the  poem. 

1  Chap.  IV,  pp.  29-33.  2  chap.  v,  pp.  34-41. 

'  Chap.  VI,  cf.  esp.  p.  60. 

*  In  the  portion  which  Schiicking  excludes,  we  twice  have  gsed  =  gaiff 
(2034,  2055).  Elsewhere  in  the  Return  we  have  don  —  doan  (2166)  whilst 
Jrea  (1934),  Hondacio  (2076)  need  to  be  considered. 


SECT,  III]    Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^ Beowulf "     119 

The  fact  that  we  find  here,  and  here  only,  passages  intro- 
duced by  the  clauses  ic  sceal  for&  sprecan^,  and  to  lang  ys  to 
reccenne^,  is  natural  when  we  realize  that  we  have  here  the 
longest  speech  in  the  whole  poem,  which  obviously  calls  for 
such  apologies  for  prolixity. 

The  fact  that  no  parentheses  occur  in  the  Return  does  not 
differentiate  it  from  the  rest  of  Beowulf:  for,  as  Schiicking 
himself  points  out  elsewhere,  there  are  three  other  passages  in 
the  poem,  longer  than  the  Return,  which  are  equally  devoid  of 
parentheses^. 

There  remain  a  few  hapax  legomena\  but  very  inconclusive. 

There  are,  in  addition,  examples  which  occur  only  in  the 
Return,  and  in  certain  other  episodic  passages.  These  episodic 
passages  also,  Schiicking  supposes,  may  have  been  added  by 
the  same  reviser  who  added  the  Return.  But  this  is  a  perilous 
change  of  position.  For  example,  a  certain  peculiarity  is 
found  only  in  the  Return  and  the  introductory  genealogical 
section 5 ;  or  in  the  Return  and  the  Finn  Episode^.  But  when 
Schiicking  proceeds  to  the  suggestion  that  the  Introduction  or 
the  Finn  Episode  may  have  been  added  by  the  same  reviser 
who  added  Beowulf  s  Return,  he  knocks  the  bottom  out  of 
some  of  his  previous  arguments.  The  argument  from  the 
absence  of  parentheses  (whatever  it  was  worth)  must  go :  for 
according  to  Schiicking's  own  punctuation,  such  parentheses 
are  found  both  in  the  Introduction  and  in  the  Finn  Episode. 
If  these  are  by  the  author  of  the  Return,  then  doubt  is  thrown 
upon  one  of  the  alleged  pecuharities  of  that  author ;  we  find  the 
author  of  the  Return  no  more  averse  on  the  whole  to  parentheses 
than  the  author  or  authors  of  the  rest  of  the  poem. 

Peculiar  usages  of  the  moods  and  tenses  are  found  twice  in 
the  Return'^,  and  once  again  in  the  episode  where  Beowulf 

1  2069.  2  2093. 

'  Satzverknupfung  im  Beovmlf,  139. 

*  pylse8=  "lest"  (1918);  ac  indirect  question  (1990);  J>a  occurring  unsup- 
ported late  in  the  sentence  (2192);  fcyrjydm  (1957)  [see  Sievers  in  P.B.B.  xxix, 
313];  siod  =  "since,"  "because"  (2184).  But  Schiicking  admits  in  his  edition 
two  other  instances  of  forpdm  (146  and  2645),  so  this  can  hardly  count. 

^  hyrde  ic  as  introducing  a  statement,  62,  2163,  2172;  siSffan  Brest,  6, 
1947. 

«  A  similar  use  of  /a,  1078,  1988;   cf.  1114,  1125,  2135. 

'  hs^hhe,  1928;  ge<yn^,  2019. 


120      Theories  as  to  the  structure  of  ^^ Beowulf    [CH.  iii 

recalls  his  youth^.  Supposing  this  episode  to  be  also  the  work 
of  the  author  of  the  Return,  we  get  peculiar  constructions  used 
three  times  by  this  author,  which  cannot  be  paralleled  else- 
where in  Beowulp. 

Now  a  large  number  of  instances  like  this  last  might  afford 
basis  for  argument ;  but  they  must  be  in  bulk  in  order  to  prove 
anything.  By  the  laws  of  chance  we  might  expect,  in  any 
passage  of  three  hundred  lines,  taken  at  random  anywhere  in 
Beowulf,  to  find  something  which  occurred  only  in  one  other 
passage  elsewhere  in  the  poem.  We  cannot  forthwith  declare 
the  two  passages  to  be  the  work  of  an  interpolator.  One 
swallow  does  not  make  a  summer. 

And  the  arguments  as  to  style  are  not  helped  by  arguments 
as  to  matter.  Even  if  it  be  granted — which  I  do  not  grant — 
that  the  long  repetition  narrating  Beowulf's  contest  with 
Grendel  and  Grrendel's  mother  is  tedious,  there  is  no  reason 
why  this  tedious  repetition  should  not  as  well  be  the  work  of 
the  original  poet  as  of  a  later  reviser.  Must  we  find  many 
different  authors  for  The  Ring  and  the  BooM  It  must  be 
granted  that  there  are  details  (such  as  the  mention  of  Grendel's 
glove)  found  in  the  Grendel  struggle  as  narrated  in  Beowulf  s 
Return,  but  not  found  in  the  original  account  of  the  struggle. 
Obviously  the  object  is  to  avoid  monotony,  by  introducing  a 
new  feature :  but  this  might  as  well  have  been  aimed  at  by  the 
old  poet  retelling  the  tale  as  by  a  new  poet  retelling  it. 

To  me,  the  fact  that  so  careful  and  elaborate  a  study  of 
the  story  of  Beowulf  s  Return  fails  to  betray  any  satisfactory 
evidence  of  separate  authorship,  is  a  confirmation  of  the  verdict 
of  "not  proven"  against  the  "dividers^."  But  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  Schiicking's  method,  his  attempt  to  prove 
differences  in  treatment,  grammar,  and  style,  is  the  right  one. 
If  any  satisfactory  results  are  to  be  attained,  it  must  be  in 
this  way. 

^  Jmrfe,  2495.  2  Schiicking,  Chap.  viii. 

3  Cf.  Brandl  in  Herrigs  ArcMv,  cxv,  421  (1905). 


SECT,  iv]  The  Christian  elements  121 


Section  IV.    Are  the  Christian  elements  incompatible 

WITH  THE  rest  OF  THE  POEM? 

Later  students  (like  the  man  in  Dante,  placed  between 
two  equally  enticing  dishes)  have  been  unable  to  decide  in 
favour  of  either  of  the  rival  theories  of  Miillenhoff  and  ten 
Brink,  and  consequently  the  unity  of  the  poem,  which  always 
had  its  champions,  has  of  late  years  come  to  be  maintained 
with  increasing  conviction  and  certainty. 

Yet  many  recent  critics  have  followed  Miillenhoff  so  far  at 
least  as  to  beUeve  that  the  Christian  passages  are  inconsistent 
with  what  they  regard  as  the  "essentially  heathen"  tone  of 
the  rest  of  the  poem,  and  are  therefore  the  work  of  an  inter- 
polator^. 

Certainly  no  one  can  escape  a  feeling  of  incongruity,  as  he 
passes  from  ideas  of  which  the  home  Hes  in  the  forests  of  ancient 
Germany,  to  others  which  come  from  the  Holy  Land.  But  that 
both  sets  of  ideas  could  not  have  been  cherished,  in  England, 
about  the  year  700,  by  one  and  the  same  poet,  is  an  assumption 
which  calls  for  examination. 

As  Christianity  swept  northward,  situations  were  created 
which  to  the  modern  student  are  incongruous.  But  the 
Teutonic  chief  often  had  a  larger  mind  than  the  modern  student : 
he  needed  to  have,  if  he  was  to  get  the  best  at  the  same  time 
both  from  his  wild  fighting  men  and  from  his  Latin  clerks. 
It  is  this  which  gives  so  remarkable  a  character  to  the  great 
men  of  the  early  centuries  of  converted  Teutonism :  men,  like 
Theodoric  the  Great  or  Charles  the  Great,  who  could  perform 
simultaneously  the  duties  of  a  Germanic  king  and  of  a  Roman 
Emperor :  kings  like  Alfred  the  Great  or  St  Olaf ,  who  combined 
the  character  of  the  tough  fighting  chieftain  with  that  of  the 
saintly  churchman.  I  love  to  think  of  these  incongruities :  to 
remember  that  the  warrior  Alfred,  surrounded  by  ihegn  and 
gesith,  listening  to  the  "Saxon  songs"  which  he  loved,  was  yet 
the  same  Alfred  who  painfully  translated  Gregory's  Pastoral 

1  e.g.  Blackburn  in  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xn,  204-226;    Bradley 
in  the  Encyc.  Brit  m,  760;   Chadwick,  H.A.  49;    Oarke,  Sidelights,  10. 


122  Are  the  Christian  elements  incompatible     [CH.  iii 

Care  under  the  direction  of  foreign  clerics.  It  is  well  to  re- 
member that  Charles  the  Great,  the  catholic  and  the  orthodox, 
collected  ancient  lays  which  his  successors  thought  too  heathen 
to  be  tolerated ;  or  that  St  Olaf  (who  was  so  holy  that,  having 
absent  mindedly  chipped  shavings  off  a  stick  on  Sunday,  he 
burnt  them,  as  penance,  on  his  open  hand)  nevertheless  allowed 
to  be  sung  before  him,  on  the  morning  of  his  last  fight,  one  of 
the  most  wild  and  utterly  heathen  of  all  the  old  songs — the 
Bjarkamdl. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  account  of  the  funeral  rites  of 
Beowulf  is  such  as  "no  Christian  poet  could  or  would  have 
composed^."  Lately  this  argument  has  been  stated  more  at 
length : 

**In  the  long  account  of  Beowulf's  obsequies — beginning  with  the 
dying  king's  injunction  to  construct  for  him  a  lofty  barrow  on  the 
edge  of  the  cliff,  and  ending  with  the  scene  of  the  twelve  princes 
riding  round  the  barrow,  proclaiming  the  dead  man's  exploits — we 
have  the  most  detailed  description  of  an  early  Teutonic  funeral  which 
has  come  down  to  us,  and  one  of  which  the  accuracy  is  confirmed  in 
every  point  by  archaeological  or  contemporary  Hterary  evidence^. 
Such  an  account  must  have  been  composed  within  hving  memory  of 
a  time  when  ceremonies  of  this  kind  were  still  actually  in  use  3." 

Owing  to  the  standing  of  the  scholar  who  urges  it,  thi» 
argument  is  coming  to  rank  as  a  dogma*,  and  needs  therefore 
rather  close  examination. 

Professor  Chadwick  may  be  right  in  urging  that  the  custom 
of  burning  the  dead  had  gone  out  of  use  in  England  even  before 
Christianity  was  introduced^ :  anyhow  it  is  certain  that,  wher- 
ever it  survived,  the  practice  was  disapproved  by  ecclesiastics, 
and  was,  indeed,  formally  censured  and  suppressed  by  the 
church  abroad. 

The  church  equally  censured  and  endeavoured  to  suppress 
the  ancient  "heathen  lays" ;  but  without  equal  success.  Now, 
in  many  of  these  lays  the  heathen  rites  of  cremation  must 
certainly  have  been  depicted,  and,  in  this  way,  the  memory 
of  the  old  funeral  customs  must  have  been  kept  fresh,  long 

*  Chadwick,  in  Cambridge  History,  i,  30. 

2  We  may  refer  especially  to  the  account  of  Attila's  funeral  given  by 
Jordanes.     [Mr  Chadwick' s  note.]  '  Chadwick  in  The  Heroic  Age,  53. 

*  It  is  adopted,  e.g.,  by  Clarke,  Sidelights,  8. 

^  Yet  this  is  very  doubtful :  see  Leeds,  Archceology,  27,  74. 


SECT,  iv]  with  the  rest  of  the  poem?  123 

after  the  last  funeral  pyre  had  died  out  in  England.  Of  course 
there  were  then,  as  there  have  been  ever  since,  puritanical 
people  who  objected  that  heathen  lays  and  heathen  ways  were 
no  fit  concern  for  a  Christian  man.  But  the  protests  of  such 
purists  are  just  the  strongest  evidence  that  the  average  Christian 
did  continue  to  take  an  interest  in  these  things.  We  have 
seen  that  the  very  monks  of  Lindisfarne  had  to  be  warned  by 
Alcuin.  I  cannot  see  that  there  is  any  such  a  priori  impos- 
sibility that  a  poet,  though  a  sincere  Christian  enough,  would 
have  described  a  funeral  in  the  old  style,  modelling  his  account 
upon  older  lays,  or  upon  tradition  derived  from  those  lays. 

The  church  might  disapprove  of  the  practice  of  cremation, 
but  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  mention  of  it  was 
tabooed.  And  many  of  the  old  burial  customs  seem  to  have 
kept  their  hold,  even  upon  the  converted.  Indeed,  when  the 
funeral  of  Attila  is  instanced  as  a  type  of  the  old  heathen 
ceremony,  it  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  those  Gothic  chieftains 
who  rode  their  horses  round  the  body  of  Attila  were  themselves 
probably  Arian  Christians,  and  that  the  historian  who  has  pre- 
served the  account  was  an  orthodox  cleric. 

Saxo  Grammaticus,  ecclesiastic  as  he  was,  has  left  us  several 
accounts^  of  cremations.  He  mentions  the  "pyre  built  of 
ships"  and  differs  from  the  poet  of  Beowulf  chiefLy  because  he 
allows  those  frankly  heathen  references  to  gods  and  offerings 
which  the  poet  of  Beowulf  excludes.  Of  course,  Saxo  was 
merely  translating.  One  can  quite  believe  that  a  Christian 
poet  composing  an  account  of  a  funeral  in  the  old  days,  would 
have  omitted  the  more  frankly  heathen  features,  as  indeed  the 
Beowulf  poet  does.  But  Saxo  shows  us  how  far  into  Christian 
times  the  ancient  funeral,  in  all  its  heathendom,  was  remem- 
bered; and  how  little  compunction  an  ecclesiastic  had  in 
recording  it.  The  assumption  that  no  Christian  poet  would 
have  composed  the  account  of  Beowulf's  funeral  or  of  Scyld's 
funeral  ship,  seems  then  to  be  quite  unjustified. 

The  further  question  remains:    Granting  that  he  would, 

could  he?     Is  the  account  of  Beowulf's  funeral  so  true  to  old 

custom  that  it  must  have  been  composed  by  an  eye-witness  of 

1  Notably  in  Book  vm  (ed.  Holder.  264)  and  Book  m  (ed.  Holder,  74). 


124         Are  the  Christian  elements  incompatible      [CH.  iii 

the  rite  of  cremation?     Is  its  "accuracy  confirmed  in  every 
point  by  archaeological  or  contemporary  literary  evidence"? 

As  to  the  archaeological  evidence,  the  fact  seems  to  be 
that  the  account  is  archaeologically  so  inexact  that  it  has 
given  great  trouble  to  one  eminent  antiquary,  Knut  Stjerna. 
That  the  pyre  should  be  hung  with  arms,  which  are  burnt  with 
the  hero  (11.  3139-40),  and  that  then  a  second  supply  of  unburnt 
treasures  should  be  buried  with  the  cremated  bones  (11.  3163-8), 
is  regarded  by  Stjerna  as  extraordinary i. 

Surely,  any  such  inexactitude  is  what  we  should  expect  in 
a  late  poet,  drawing  upon  tradition.  He  would  know  that  in 
heathen  times  bodies  were  burnt,  and' that  weapons  were  buried ; 
and  he  might  well  combine  both.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose,  as  Stjerna  does,  that  the  poet  has  combined  two 
separate  accounts  of  Beowulf's  funeral,  given  in  older  lays,  in 
one  of  which  the  hero  was  burnt,  and  in  the  other  buried. 
But  the  fact  that  an  archaeological  specialist  finds  the  account 
of  Beowulf's  funeral  so  inexact  that  he  has  to  assume  a  con- 
fused and  composite  source,  surely  disposes  of  the  argument 
that  it  is  so  exact  that  it  must  date  back  to  heathen  times. 

As  to  confirmation  from  literary  documents,  the  only  one 
instanced  by  Chad  wick  is  the  account  of  the  funeral  of  Attila. 
The  parallel  here  is  by  no  means  so  close  as  has  been  asserted. 
The  features  of  Attila's  funeral  are :  the  lying  in  state,  during 
which  the  chosen  horsemen  of  the  nation  rode  round  the  body 
singing  the  dead  king's  praises;  the  funeral  feast;  and  the 
burial  (not  burning)  of  the  body.  Now  the  only  feature  which 
recurs  in  Beowulf  is  the  praise  of  the  dead  man  by  the  mounted 
thanes.  Even  here  there  is  an  essential  difference.  Attila's 
men  rode  round  the  dead  body  of  their  lord  before  his  funeral. 
Beowulf's  retainers  ride  and  utter  their  lament  around  (not  the 
body  but)  the  grave  mound  of  their  lord,  ten  days  after  the 
cremation. 

And  this  is  perhaps  no  accidental  discrepancy :  it  may  well 
correspond  to  a  real  difference  in  practice  between  the  Gothic 
custom  of  the  time  of  the  migrations  and  the  Anglo-Saxon 

*  'Fasta  fomlamningar  i  Beowulf,'  in  Ant.  Tidskriftfor  Sverige,  xvni,  4,  64. 


SECT,  iv]  with  the  rest  of  the  poem  ?  125 

practice  as  it  prevailed  in  Christian  times^.  For  many  docu- 
ments, including  the  Bream  of  the  Rood,  tend  to  show  that  the 
sorhleo^,  the  lament  of  the  retainers  for  their  dead  lord,  survived 
into  Christian  times,  but  as  a  ceremony  which  was  subsequent 
not  merely  to  the  funeral,  but  even  to  the  building  of  the  tomb. 

So  that,  here  again,  so  far  from  the  archaeological  accuracy 
of  the  account  of  Beowulf's  funeral  being  confirmed  by  the 
account  of  that  of  Attila,  we  find  a  discrepancy  such  as  we  / 
might  expect  if  a  Christian  poet,  in  later  times,  had  tried  to/ 
describe  a  funeral  of  the  old  heathen  type. 

Of  course,  the  evidence  is  far  too  scanty  to  allow  of  much 
positive  argument.  Still,  so  far  as  it  goes,  and  that  is  not  far, 
it  rather  tends  to  show  that  the  account  of  the  funeral  customs 
is  not  quite  accurate,  representing  what  later  Christian  times 
knew  by  tradition  of  the  rite  of  cremation,  rather  than  showing  / 
the  observation  of  that  rite  by  an  eye-witness. 

We  must  turn,  then,  to  some  other  argument,  if  we  wish  to 
prove  that  the  Christian  element  is  inconsistent  with  other 
parts  of  the  poem. 

A  second  argument  that  Beowulf  must  belong  either  to 
heathen  times,  or  to  the  very  earhest  Christian  period  in 
England,  has  been  found  in  the  character  of  the  Christian 
allusions:  they  contain  no  "reference  to  Christ,  to  the  Cross, 
to  the  Virgin  or  the  Saints,  to  any  doctrine  of  the  church  in 
regard  to  the  Trinity,  the  Atonement,  etc.^"  "A  pious  Jew 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  assenting  to  them  all^."  Hence  it 
has  been  argued*  that  they  are  the  work  of  an  interpolator  who, 
working  upon  a  poem  "essentially  heathen/'  was  not  able  to 
impose  upon  it  more  than  this  "vague  and  colourless  Chris- 
tianity." I  cannot  see  this.  If  passages  had  to  be  rewritten 
at  all,  it  was  just  as  easy  to  rewrite  them  in  a  tone  emphatically 
Christian  as  in  a  tone  mildly  so.  The  difficulties  which  the 
interpolator  would  meet  in  removing  a  heathen  phrase,  and 
composing  a  Christian  half-fine  in  substitution,  would  be 
metrical,  rather  than  theological.     For  example,  in  a  second 

1  See  Schiicking,  Das  angdsdchsische  Totenklaglied,  in  Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  1-13. 

2  Blackburn,  in  Pvh.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.   Cf .  Hart,  Ballad  and  Epic,  175. 
*  Clark  Hall,  xlvii.  *  Blackburn,  as  above,  p.  126. 


126  Are  the  Christian  elements  incompatible     [CH.  in 

half-line  the  interpolator  could  have  written  ond  hdlig  Crist  or 
ylda  nergend  just  as  easily  as  ond  hdlig  god,  or  ylda  waldend : 
he  could  have  put  in  an  allusion  to  the  Trinity  or  to  the  Cross 
as  easily  as  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts  or  the  King  of  Glory.  It  would 
depend  upon  the  alliteration  which  was  the  more  convenient. 
And  surely,  if  he  was  a  monk  dehberately  sitting  down  to  turn 
a  heathen  into  a  Christian  poem,  he  would,  of  two  alternatives, 
have  favoured  the  more  dogmatically  Christian. 

The  vagueness  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  Christian 
references  in  Beowulf  can  then  hardly  be  due  to  the  poem 
having  originally  been  a  heathen  one,  worked  over  by  a 
Christian. 

Others  have  seen  in  this  vagueness  a  proof  "that  the 
minstrels  who  introduced  the  Christian  element  had  but  a 
vague  knowledge  of  the  new  faith^"  :  or  that  the  poem  was  the 
work  of  "a  man  who,  without  having,  or  wanting  to  have, 
much  definite  instruction,  had  become  Christian  because  the 
Court  had  newly  become  Christian^."  But,  vague  as  it  is, 
does  the  Christianity  of  Beowulf  justify  such  a  judgment  as 
this?  Do  not  the  characters  of  Hrothgar  or  of  Beowulf,  of 
Hygd  or  of  Wealhtheow,  show  a  Christian  influence  which, 
however  Httle  dogmatic,  is  anything  but  superficial?  This  is 
a  matter  where  individual  feehng  rather  than  argument  must 
weigh :  but  the  Beowulf  does  not  seem  to  me  the  work  of  a 
man  whose  adherence  to  Christianity  is  merely  nominal^. 

And,  so  far  as  the  absence  of  dogma  goes,  it  seems  to  have 
been  overlooked  that  the  Christian  references  in  the  Battle  of 
Maldon,  written  when  England  had  been  Christian  for  over 
three  centuries,  are  precisely  of  the  same  vague  character  as 
those  in  Beowulf. 

Surely  the  explanation  is  that  to  a  devout,  but  not  theo- 

1  Chadwick,  in  Cambridge  History y  i,  30. 

2  Clark  HaU,  xlvii.     See,  to  the  contrary,  Klaeber  in  Anglia,  xxxvi,  196. 
*  This  point  is  fully  developed  by  Brandl,  1002-3.     As  Brandl  points  out, 

if  we  want  to  find  a  parallel  to  the  hero  Beowulf,  saving  his  people  from  their 
temporal  and  ghostly  foes,  we  must  look,  not  to  the  other  heroes  of  Old  English 
heroic  poetry,  such  as  Waldhere  or  Hengest,  but  to  Moses  in  the  Old  English 
Exodus.  [Since  this  was  written  the  essentially  Christian  character  of  Beowulf 
has  been  further,  and  I  think  finally,  demonstrated  by  Klaeber,  in  the  last 
section  of  his  article  on  Die  Christlichen  Elemente  im  Beowulf,  in  Anglia,  xxxvi; 
see  especially  194-199.] 


SECT,  iv]  tvith  the  rest  of  the  poem?  127 

logically-minded  poet,  writing  battle  poetry,  references  to  God 
as  the  Lord  of  Hosts  or  the  Giver  of  Victory  came  naturally 
— references  to  the  Trinity  or  the  Atonement  did  not.  This 
seems  quite  a  sufficient  explanation ;  though  it  may  be  that  in 
Beowulf  the  poet  has  consciously  avoided  dogmatic  references, 
because  he  realized  that  the  characters  in  his  story  were  not 
Christians^.  That,  at  the  same  time,  he  allows  those  characters 
with  whom  he  sympathizes  to  speak  in  a  Christian  spirit  is 
only  what  we  should  expect.  Just  so  Chaucer  allows  his 
pagans — Theseus  for  instance — to  use  Christian  expressions 
about  God  or  the  soul,  whilst  avoiding  anything  strikingly 
doctrinal. 

Finally  I  cannot  admit  that  the  Christian  passages  are 
*' poetically  of  no  value^."  The  description  of  Grendel  nearing 
Heorot  is  good : 

Da  com  of  more  under  mist-hleo|)um 
Grendel  gongan — 

but  it  is  heightened  when  the  poet  adds: 

Godes  yrre  bser. 

Yet  here  again  it  is  impossible  to  argue :  it  is  a  matter  of  in- 
dividual feehng. 

When,  however,  we  come  to  the  further  statement  of 
Dr  Bradley,  that  the  Christian  passages  are  not  only  inter- 
polations poetically  worthless,  but  "may  be  of  any  date  down 
to  that  of  the  extant  MS  "  (i.e.  about  the  year  1000  a.d.),  we 
have  reached  ground  where  argument  is  possible,  and  where 
definite  results  can  be  attained.  For  Dr  Bradley,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  makes  this  statement  about  the  character  of  the 
Christian  passages,  also  quotes  the  archaic  syntax  of  Beowulf 
as  proving  an  early  date^.  But  this  archaic  syntax  is  just  as 
'prominent  a  feature  of  the  Christian  passages  as  of  any  other 
parts  of  the  poem.  If  these  Christian  passages  are  really  the 
work  of  a  "monkish  copyist,  whose  piety  exceeded  his  poetic 
powers*,"  how  do  they  come  to  show  an  antique  syntax  and 
a  strict  technique  surpassing  those  of  Cynewulf  or  the  Dream 

1  Cf.  Beomdf,  11.  180  etc.  a  Bradley,  in  Encyc.  BrU. 

3  Bradley,  in  Encyc.  Brit,  m,  760-1.  *  Blackburn,  218. 


') 


128  I        The  Christian  elements  in  ^^ Beowulf  ^'       [ch.  hi 

of  the  Rood'l  Why  do  they  not  betray  their  origin  by  metrical 
inaccuracies  such  as  we  find  in  poems  undoubtedly  interpolated, 
like  Widsith  or  the  Seafarer'^. 

Dr  Bradley  is  "  our  chief  English  seer  in  these  matters/'  as 
Dr  Furnivall  said  long  ago ;  and  it  is  only  with  the  greatest 
circumspection  that  one  should  differ  from  any  of  his  con- 
clusions. Nevertheless,  I  feel  that,  before  we  can  regard  any 
portion  of  Beowulf  as  later  than  the  rest,  discrepancies  need  to 
be  demonstrated. 

Until  such  discrepancies  between  the  different  parts  of 
Beowulf  can  be  demonstrated,  we  are  justified  in  regarding  the 
poem  as  homogeneous:  as  a  production  of  the  Germanic 
world  enlightened  by  the  new  faith.  Whether  through  ex- 
ternal violence  or  internal  decay,  this  world  was  fated  to 
rapid  change,  and  perished  with  its  promise  unfulfilled.  The 
great  merit  of  Beowulf  as  a  historic  document  is  that  it  shows 
us  a  picture  of  a  period  in  which  the  virtues  of  the  heathen 
"Heroic  Age"  were  tempered  by  the  gentleness  of  the  new 
belief;   an  age  waiHke,  yet  Christian:    devout,  yet  tolerant. 


PART  II 

DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTKATING  THE  STORIES 
IN  BEOWULF,  AND  THE  0^^^-SAGA, 

A.    The  early  Kings  of  the  Danes  according 
TO  Saxo  Grammaticus 

Saxo,  Book  I,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  iiib  ;  ed.  Holder,  p.  10, 1.  25. 

Uerum  a  Dan,  ut  fert  antiquitas,  regum  nostrorum  stem- 
mata,  ceu  quodam  deriuata  principio,  splendido  successionis 
ordine  profluxerunt.  Huic  filii  Humblus  et  Lotherus  fuere, 
ex  Grytha,  summae  inter  Teutones  dignitatis  matrona,  suscepti. 

Lecturi  regem  ueteres  affixis  humo  saxis  insistere,  suffra- 
giaque  promere  consueuerant,  subiectorum  lapidum  firmitate 
facti  constantiam  ominaturi.  Quo  ritu  Humblus,  decedente 
patre,  nouo  patriae  beneficio  rex  creatus,  sequentis  fortunse 
malignitate,  ex  rege  priuatus  euasit.  Bello  siquidem  a  Lothero 
captus,  regni  depositione  spiritum  mercatus  est ;  hsec  sola  quippe 
uicto  salutis  conditio  reddebatur.  Ita  fraternis  iniuriis  im- 
perium  abdicare  coactus,  documentum  bominibus  praebuit,  ut 
plus  splendoris,  ita  minus  securitatis,  aulis  quam  tuguriis  inesse. 
Ceterum  iniuriae  tam  patiens  fuit,  ut  honoris  damno  tanquam 
beneficio  gratulari  crederetur,  sagaciter,  ut  puto,  regiae  con- 
ditionis  habitum  contemplatus.  Sed  nee  Lotherus  tolera- 
biUorem  regem  quam  mihtem  egit,  ut  prorsus  insolentia  ac 
scelere  regnum  auspicari  uideretur;  siquidem  illustrissimum 
quemque  uita  aut  opibus  spoliare,  patriamque  bonis  ciuibus 
uacuefacere  probitatis  loco  duxit,  regni  aemulos  ratus,  quos 
nobilitate  pares  habuerat.  Nee  diu  scelerum  impunitus,  patriae 
consternatione  perimitur ;  eadem  spiritum  eripiente,  quae  regnum 
largita  fuerat. 

o.  B.  9 


130  Extracts  from  Saxo  Grammaticus 

Cuius  filius  Skyoldus  naturam  ab  ipso,  non  mores  sortitus, 
per  summam  tenerioris  setatis  industriam  cuncta  paternse  con- 
tagionis  uestigia  ingeniti  erroris  deuio  prseteribat.  Igitur  ut 
a  paternis  uitiis  prudenter  desciuit,  ita  auitis  uirtutibus  feliciter 
respondit,  remotiorem  pariter  ac  prsestantiorem  hereditarii 
moris  portionem  amplexus.  Huius  adolescentia  inter  paternos 
uenatores  immanis  beluse  subactione  insignis  extitit,  mirandoque 
•^  rei  euentu  futurse  eius  fortitudinis  habitum  ominata  est.  Nam 
cum  a  tutoribus  forte,  quorum  summo  studio  educabatur, 
inspectandse  uenationis  licentiam  impetrasset,  obuium  sibi 
insolitae  granditatis  ursum,  telo  uacuus,  cingulo,  cuius  usum 
habebat,  religandum  curauit,  necandumque  comitibus  prsebuit. 
Sed  et  complures  spectatae  fortitudinis  pugiles  per  idem  tempus 
uiritim  ab  eo  superati  produntur,  e  quibus  Attains  et  Scatus 
clari  illustresque  fuere.  Quindecim  annos  natus,  inusitato 
corporis  incremento  perfectissimum  humani  roboris  specimen 
prasferebat,  tantaque  indolis  eius  experimenta  fuere,  ut  ab  ipso 
ceteri  Danorum  reges  communi  quodam  uocabulo  Skioldungi 
nuncuparentur. . . 

Saxo  then  relates  the  adventures  of  Gram,  Hadingus  and 
Frotho,  whom  he  represents  as  respectively  son,  grandson  and 
great-grandson  of  Skioldus.  That  Gram  and  Hadingus  are 
interpolated  in  the  family  is  shewn  by  the  fact  that  the  pedigree 
of  Sweyn  Aageson  passes  direct  from  Skiold  to  his  son  Frothi. 

Saxo,  Book  II,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xi  b ;  ed.  Holder,  p.  38,  1.  4. 

Hadingo  filius  Frotho  succedit,  cuius  uarii  insignesque 
casus  fuere.  Pubertatis  annos  emensus,  iuueniHum  prseferebat 
complementa  uirtutum,  quas  ne  desidise  corrumpendas  prse- 
beret,  abstractum  uoluptatibus  animum  assidua  armorum 
intentione  torquebat.  Qui  cum,  paterno  thesauro  bellicis 
operibus  absumpto,  stipendiorum  facultatem,  qua  militem 
aleret,  non  haberet,  attentiusque  necessarii  usus  subsidia 
circunspiceret,  tah  subeuntis  indigense  carmine  concitatur: 

Insula  non  longe  est  prsemollibus  edita  cHuis, 
Collibus  sera  tegens  et  opimse  conscia  prsedse. 
Hie  tenet  eximium,  montis  possessor,  aceruum 


Skioldits:  Frotho  and  the  d/ragon:  Haldanus     131 

Implicitus  giris  serpens  crebrisque  reflexus 

Orbibus,  et  caudae  sinuosa  uolumina  ducens, 

Multiplicesque  agitans  spiras,  uirusque  profundens. 

Quern  superare  uolens  clypeo,  quo  conuenit  uti, 

Taurinas  intende  cutes,  corpusque  bouinis 

Tergoribus  tegito,  nee  amaro  nuda  ueneno 

Membra  patere  sinas;    sanies,  quod  conspuit,  urit.  a 

Lingua  trisulca  micans  patulo  licet  ore  resultet, 

Tristiaque  horrifico  minitetur  uulnera  rictu, 

Intrepidum  mentis  habitum  retinere  memento. 

Nee  te  permoueat  spinosi  dentis  acumen, 

Nee  rigor,  aut  rapida  iactatum  fauce  uenenum. 

Tela  licet  temnat  uis  squamea,  uentre  sub  imo 

Esse  locum  scito,  quo  ferrum  mergere  fas  est; 

Hunc  mucrone  petens  medium  rimaberis  anguem. 

Hinc  montem  securus  adi,  pressoque  ligone 

Perfossos  scrutare  cauos;   mox  sere  crumenas 

Imbue,  completamque  reduc  ad  Uttora  puppim. 

Credulus  Frotho  solitarius  in  insulam  traiicit:  ne  comitatior 
beluam  adoriretur,  quam  athletas  aggredi  moris  fuerat.  Quae 
cum  aquis  pota  specum  repeteret,  impactum  Frothonis  ferrum 
aspero  cutis  horrore  contempsit.  Sed  et  spicula,  quae  in  earn 
coniecta  fuerant,  eluso  mittentis  conatu  laesionis  irrita  result- 
abant.  At  ubi  nil  tergi  duritia  cessit,  uentris  curiosius  annotati 
mollities  ferro  patuit.  Quae  se  morsu  ulcisci  cupiens,  clypeo 
duntaxat  spinosum  oris  acumen  impegit.  Crebris  deinde  lin- 
guam  micatibus  ducens,  uitam  pariter  ac  uirus  efflauit. 

Repertae  pecuniae  regem  locupletem  f ecere . . . 

Saxo,  Book  II,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xvb;  ed.  Holder,  p.  51,  1.  4. 

His,  uirtute  paribus,  aequa  regnandi  incessit  auiditas.  Im- 
perii cuique  cura  extitit;  fraternus  nullum  respectus  astrinxit. 
Quem  enim  nimia  sui  caritas  ceperit,  aliena  deserit:  nee  sibi 
quisquam  ambitiose  atque  aliis  amice  consulere  potest.  Horum 
maximus  Haldanus,  Roe  et  Scato  fratribus  interfectis,  naturam 
scelere  poUuit:  regnum  parricidio  carpsit.  Et  ne  ullum  crudeli- 
tatis   exemplum  omitteret,   comprehensos  eorum  fautores  prius 

9—2 


132  Extracts  from  Saxo  Grammaticus 

uinculorum  poena  coercuit,  mox  suspendio  consumpsit.  Cuius 
ex  eo  maxime  fortuna  ammirabilis  fuit,  quod,  licet  omnia 
temporum  momenta  ad  exercenda  atrocitatis  officia  contulisset, 
senectute  uitam,  non  ferro,  finierit. 

Huius  filii  Roe  et  Helgo  fuere.  A  Roe  Roskildia  condita 
memoratur:  quam  postmodum  Sueno,  furcatae  barbae  cogno- 
mento  clarus,  ciuibus  auxit,  amplitudine  propagauit.  Hie 
breui  angustoque  corpore  fuit:  Helgonem  habitus  procerior 
cepit.  Qui,  diuiso  cum  fratre  regno,  maris  possessionem  sortitus, 
regem  Sclauiae  Scalcum  maritimis  copiis  lacessitum  oppressit. 
Quam  cum  in  prouinciam  redegisset,  uarios  pelagi  recessus  uago 
nauigationis  genere  perlustrabat. 

Saxo,  Book  II,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xvia;  ed.  Holder,  p.  53, 1. 16. 

Huic  filius  Roluo  succedit,  uir  corporis  animique  dotibus 
uenustus,  qui  staturae  magnitudinem  pari  uirtutis  babitu  com- 
mendaret. 

Ihid.,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xviia;  ed.  Holder,  p.  55,  1.  40. 

Per  idem  tempus  Agnerus  quidam,  Ingelli  filius,  sororem 
Roluonis,  Rutam  nomine,  matrimonio  ducturus,  ingenti  con- 
uiuio  nuptias  instruit.  In  quo  cum  pugiles,  omni  petulantiae 
genere  debacchantes.  in  laltonem  quendam  nodosa  passim  ossa 
coniicerent,  accidit,  ut  eius  consessor,  Biarco  nomine,  iacientis 
errore  uehementem  capite  ictum  exciperet.  Qui  dolore  pariter 
ac  ludibrio  lacessitus,  osse  inuicem  in  iacientem  remisso,  frontem 
eius  in  occuput  reflexit,  idemque  loco  frontis  intorsit,  transuer- 
sum  hominis  animum  uultus  obliquitate  mulctando.  Ea  res 
contumeliosam  ioci  insolentiam  temperauit,  pugilesque  regia 
abire  coegit.  Qua  conuiuii  iniuria  permotus,  sponsus  ferro  cum 
Biarcone  decernere  statuit,  uiolatae  hilaritatis  ultionem  duelli 
nomine  quaesiturus.  In  cuius  ingressu,  utri  prior  feriendi  copia 
deberetur  diutule  certatum  est.  Non  enim  antiquitus  in  edendis 
agonibus  crebrae  ictuum  uicissitudines  petebantur :  sed  erat  cum 
interuallo  temporis  etiam  feriendi  distincta  successio;  rarisque 
sed  atrocibus  plagis  certamina  gerebantur,  ut  gloria  potius 
percussionum  magnitudini,  quam  numero  deferretur.  Praelato 
ob  generis  dignitatem  Agnero,  tanta  ui  ictum  ab  eo  editum 


Bjarhi  (Biarco)  and  Rolf  Krahi  (Roluo)  133 

constat,  ut,  prima  cassidis  parte  conscissa,  supremam  capitis 
cuticulam  uulneraret,  ferrumqiue  mediis  galeae  interclusum 
foraminibus  dimitteret.  Tunc  Biarco  mutuo  percussurus,  quo 
plenius  ferrum  libraret,  pedem  trunco  annixus,  medium  Agneri 
corpus  praestantis  acuminis  mucrone  transegit.  Sunt  qui 
asserant,  morientem  Agnerum  soluto  in  risum  ore  per  summam 
doloris  dissimulationem  spiritum  reddidisse.  Cuius  ultionem 
pugiles  auidius  expetentes,  simili  per  Biarconem  exitio  mulctati 
sunt.  Utebatur  quippe  praestantis  acuminis  inusitataeque  longi- 
tudinis  gladio,  quem  LjiJui  uocabat.  Talibus  operum  meritis 
exultanti  nouam  de  se  siluestris  fera  uictoriam  praebuit.  Ursum 
quippe  eximiae  magnitudinis  obuium  sibi  inter  dumeta  factum 
iaculo  conf ecit :  comitemque  suum  laltonem,  quo  uiribus  maior 
euaderet,  applicato  ore  egestum  belluae  cruorem  haurire  iussit. 
Creditum  namque  erat,  hoc  potionis  genere  corporei  roboris 
incrementa  praestari.  His  facinorum  uirtutibus  clarissimas  op- 
timatum  familiaritates  adeptus,  etiam  regi  percarus  euasit; 
sororem  eius  Rutam  uxorem  asciuit,  uictique  sponsam  uictoriae 
praemium  habuit.  Ab  Atislo  lacessiti  Roluonis  ultionem  armis 
exegit,  eumque  uictum  bello  prostrauit.  Tunc  Roluo  magni 
acuminis  iuuenem  Hiarthwarum  nomine,  sorore  Sculda  sibi  in 
matrimonium  data,  annuoque  uectigali  imposito,  Suetiae  prae- 
fectum  constituit,  libertatis  iacturam  affinitatis  beneficio 
leniturus. 

Hoc  loci  quiddam  memoratu  iucundum  operi  inseratur. 
Adolescens  quidam  Wiggo  nomine,  corpoream  Roluonis  magni- 
tudinem  attention  contemplatione  scrutatus,  ingentique  eius- 
dem  admiratione  captus,  percontari  per  ludibrium  coepit,  quis- 
nam  esset  iste  Krage,  quem  tanto  staturae  fastigio  prodiga  rerum 
natura  ditasset;  faceto  cauillationis  genere  inusitatum  pro- 
ceritatis  habitum  prosecutus.  Dicitur  enim  lingua  Danica 
'  krage '  truncus,  cuius  semicaesis  ramis  fastigia  conscenduntur, 
ita  ut  pes,  praecisorum  stipitum  obsequio  perinde  ac  scalae 
beneficio  nixus,  sensimque  ad  superiora  prouectus,  petitae  cel- 
situdinis  compendium  assequatur.  Quem  uocis  iactum  Roluo 
perinde  ac  inclytum  sibi  cognomen  amplexus,  urbanitatem  dicti 
ingentis  armillae  dono  prosequitur.  Qua  Wiggo  dexteram 
excultam  extollens,  laeua  per  pudoris  simulationem  post  tergum 


134  Extracts  from  Saxo  Grammaticits 

reflexa,  ridiculum  corporis  incessum  praebuit,  prsefatus,  exiguo 
laetari  munere,  quern  sors  diutinse  tenuisset  inopise.  Rogatus, 
cur  ita  se  gereret,  inopem  ornamenti  manum  nulloque  cultus 
benejScio  gloriantem  ad  aspectum  reliquse  uerecundo  pauper- 
tatis  rubore  perfundi  dicebat.  Cuius  dicti  calliditate  con- 
sentaneum  priori  munus  obtinuit.  Siquidem  Roluo  manum, 
quae  ab  ipso  occultabatur,  exemplo  reliquae  in  medium  accer- 
sendam  curauit.  Nee  Wiggoni  rependendi  beneficii  cura  defuit. 
Siquidem  arctissima  uoti  nuncupatione  '  pollicitus  est,  si 
Roluonem  ferro  perire  contingeret,  ultionem  se  ab  eius 
interfectoribus  exacturum.  Nee  prsetereundum,  quod  olim 
ingressuri  curiam  proceres  famulatus  sui  principia  alicuius 
magnse  rei  uoto  principibus  obligare  solebant,  uirtute  tirocinium 
auspicantes. 

Interea  Sculda,  tributarise  solutionis  pudore  permota,  diris 
animum  commentis  applicans,  maritum,  exprobrata  condi- 
cionis  deformitate,  propulsandse  seruitutis  monitu  concitatum 
atque  ad  insidias  Roluoni  nectendas  perductum  atrocissimis 
nouarum  rerum  consiliis  imbuit,  plus  unumquenque  libertati 
quam  necessitudini  debere  testata.  Igitur  crebras  armorum 
massas,  diuersi  generis  tegminibus  obuolutas,  tributi  more  per 
Hiartbwarum  in  Daniam  perferri  iubet,  occidendi  noctu  regis 
materiam  praebituras.  Refertis  itaque  falsa  uectigalium  mole 
nauigiis,  Letbram  pergitur,  quod  oppidum,  a  Roluone  con- 
structum  eximiisque  regni  opibus  illustratum,  ceteris  confi- 
nium  prouinciarum  urbibus  regiae  fundationis  et  sedis  auctori- 
tate  praestabat.  Rex  aduentum  Hiarthwari  conuiualis  impensae 
deliciis  prosecutus  ingenti  se  potione  proluerat,  hospitibus 
praeter  morem  ebrietatis  intemperantiam  formidantibus. 
Ceteris  igitur  altiorem  carpentibus  somnum,  Sueones,  quibus 
scelesti  libido  propositi  communem  quietis  usum  ademerat, 
cubiculis  furtim  delabi  ccepere.  Aperitur  ilico  telorum  occlusa 
congeries,  et  sua  sibi  quisque  tacitus  arma  connectit.  Deinde 
regiam  petunt,  irruptisque  penetralibus  in  dormientium  corpora 
ferrum  destringunt.  Experrecti  complures,  quibus  non  minus 
subitae  cladis  horror  quam  somni  stupor  incesserat,  dubio  nisu 
discrimini  restitere,  socii  an  hostes  occurrerent,  noctis  errore 
incertum  reddente.     Eiusdem  forte  silentio  noctis  Hialto,  qui 


Death  of  Rolf  Krdki  (Roluo)  136 

inter  regios  proceres  spectatae  probitatis  merito  praeeminebat, 
rus  egressus,  scorti  se  complexibus  dederat.  Hie  cum  obortum 
pugnse  fragorem  stupida  procul  aure  sensisset,  fortitudinem 
luxuriae  prsetulit,  maluitque  funestum  Martis  discrimen  appetere, 
quam  blandis  Veneris  illecebris  indulgere.  Quanta  hunc  mili- 
tem  regis  caritate  fiagrasse  putemus,  qui,  cum  ignorantiae 
simulatione  excusationem  absentise  prsestare  posset,  salutem 
suam  manifesto  periculo  obicere,  quam  uoluptati  seruare  satius 
existimauit?  Discedentem  pellex  percunctari  ccepit,  si  ipso 
careat,  cuius  aetatis  uiro  nubere  debeat.  Quam  Hialto,  perinde 
ac  secretins  allocuturus,  propius  accedere  iussam,  indignatus 
amoris  sibi  successorem  requiri,  praeciso  naso  deformem  red- 
didit, erubescendoque  uulnere  libidinosae  percunctationis  dictum 
mulctauit,  mentis  lasciuiam  oris  iactura  temperandam  existi- 
mans.  Quo  facto,  liberum  quaesitae  rei  indicium  a  se  ei  relinqui 
dixit.  Post  haec,  repetito  ocius  oppido,  confertissimis  se  globis 
immergit,  aduersasque  acies  mutua  uulnerum  inflictione  pro- 
sternit.  Cumque  dormientis  adhuc  Biarconis  cubiculum  prae- 
teriret,  expergisci  iussum,  tali  uoce  compellat: 

Saxo's  translation  of  the  BjarJcamdl  follows.  The  part 
which  concerns  students  of  Beowulf  most  is  the  account  of  how 
Roluo  deposed  and  slew  R^ricus. 

Saxo,  Book  II,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xixa;  ed.  Holder,  p.  62, 1.  1. 

At  nos,  qui  regem  uoto  meliore  ueremur, 
lungamus  cuneos  stabiles,  tutisque  phalangem 
Ordinibus  mensi,  qua  rex  praecepit,  eamus 
Qui  natum  B^ki  E^ricum  strauit  auari, 
Imphcuitque  uirum  leto  uirtute  carentem. 
Ille  quidem  praestans  opibus,  habituque  fruendi 
Pauper  erat,  probitate  minus  quam  foenore  pollens; 
Aurum  militia  potius  ratus,  omnia  lucro 
Posthabuit,  laudisque  carens  congessit  aceruos 
Mvia,  et  ingenuis  uti  contempsit  amicis. 
Cumque  lacessitus  Roluonis  classe  fuisset, 
Egestum  cistis  aurum  deferre  minis tros 
lussit,  et  in  primas  urbis  diffundere  portas. 


136  Extracts  from  Saxo  Grammaticus 

Dona  magis  quam  bella  parans,  quia  militis  expers 
Munere,  non  armis,  tentandum  credidit  hostem; 
Tanquam  opibus  solis  bellum  gesturus,  et  usu 
Rerum,  non  hominum,  Martem  producere  posset. 
Ergo  graues  loculos  et  ditia  claustra  resoimt 
Armillas  teretes  et  onustas  protulit  areas, 
Exitii  fomenta  sui,  ditissimus  seris, 
Bellatoris  inops,  hostique  adimenda  relinquens 
Pignora,  quae  patriis  prsebere  pepercit  amicis. 
Annellos  ultro  metuens  dare,  maxima  nolens 
Pondera  fudit  opum,  ueteris  populator  acerui. 
Bex  tamen  hunc  prudens,  oblataque  munera  spreiiit, 
Rem  pariter  uitamque  adimens;   nee  profuit  hosti 
Census  iners,  quem  longo  auidus  cumulauerat  seuo. 
Hunc  pius  inuasit  Roluo,  summasque  perempti 
Cepit  opes,  inter  dignos  partitus  amicos, 
Quicquid  auara  manus  tantis  congesserat  annis; 
Irrumpensque  opulenta  magis  quam  fortia  castra, 
Praebuit  eximiam  sociis  sine  sanguine  prsedam. 
Cui  nil  tam  pulchrum  fuit,  ut  non  funderet  illud, 
Aut  carum,  quod  non  sociis  daret,  aera  fauillis 
Assimulans,  famaque  annos,  non  foenore  mensus. 
Unde  liquet,  regem  claro  iam  funere  functum 
Praeclaros  egisse  dies,  speciosaque  fati 
Tempora,  praeteritos  decorasse  uiriliter  annos. 
Nam  uirtute  ardens,  dum  uiueret,  omnia  uicit, 
Egregio  dignas  sortitus  corpore  uires. 
Tam  praeceps  in  bella  fuit,  quam  concitus  amnis 
In  mare  decurrit,  pugnamque  capessere  promptus 
Ut  ceruus  rapidum  bifido  pede  tendere  cursum. 

Saxo,  Book  II,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xxia;  ed.  Holder,  p.  67,  1.  1. 

Hanc  maxime  exhortationum  seriem  idcirco  metrica  ratione 
compegerim,  quod  earundem  sententiarum  intellectus  Danici 
cuiusdam  carminis  compendio  digestus  a  compluribus  anti- 
quitatis  peritis  memoriter  usurpatur. 

Contigit   autem,    potitis   uictoria    Gothis,    omne   Roluonis 


Wiggo  avenges  Roluo  on  Hiartuarus  137 

agmen  occumbere,  neminemque,  excepto  Wiggone,  ex  tanta 
iuuentute  residuum  fore.  Tantum  enim  excellentissimis  regis 
meritis  ea  pugna  a  militibus  tributum  est,  ut  ipsius  csedes 
omnibus  oppetendae  mortis  cupiditatem  ingeneraret,  eique  morte 
iungi  uita  iucundius  duceretur. 

Laetus  Hiartuarus  prandendi  gratia  positis  mensis  conuiuium 
pugnse  succedere  iubet,  uictoriam  epulis  prosecuturus.  Quibus 
oneratus  magnse  sibi  ammirationi  esse  dixit,  quod  ex  tanta 
Roluonis  militia  nemo,  qui  saluti  fuga  aut  captione  consuleret, 
repertus  fuisset.  Unde  liquidum  fuisse  quanto  fidei  studio 
regis  sui  caritatem  coluerint,  cui  superstites  esse  passi  non 
fuerint.  Fortunam  quoque,  quod  sibi  ne  unius  quidem  eorum 
obsequium  superesse  permiserit,  causabatur,  quam  libentissime 
se  talium  uirorum  famulatu  usurum  testatus.  Oblato  Wiggone 
perinde  ac  munere  gratulatus,  an  sibi  militare  uellet,  perquirit. 
Annuenti  destrictum  gladium  offert.  lUe  cuspidem  refutans, 
capulum  petit,  hunc  morem  Roluoni  in  porrigendo  militibus 
ense  extitisse  prsefatus.  Olim  namque  se  regum  clientelae 
daturi,  tacto  gladii  capulo  obsequium  poUiceri  solebant.  Quo 
pacto  Wiggo  capulum  complexus,  cuspidem  per  Hiartuarum 
agit,  ultionis  compos,  cuius  Roluoni  ministerium  pollicitus 
fuerat.  Quo  facto,  ouans  irruentibus  in  se  Hiartuari  militibus 
cupidius  corpus  obtulit,  plus  uoluptatis  se  ex  tjnranni  nece 
quam  amaritudinis  ex  propria  sentire  uociferans.  Ita  conuiuio 
in  exequias  uerso,  uictoriae  gaudium  funeris  luctus  insequitur. 
Clarum  ac  semper  memorabilem  uirum,  qui,  uoto  fortiter 
expleto,  mortem  sponte  complexus  suo  ministerio  mensas 
tyranni  sanguine  maculauit.  Neque  enim  occidentium  manus 
uiuax  animi  uirtus  expauit,  cum  prius  a  se  loca,  quibus  Roluo 
assueuerat,  interfectoris  eius  cruore  respersa  cognosceret. 
Eadem  itaque  dies  Hiartuari  regnum  finiuit  ac  peperit.  Frau- 
dulenter  enim  qusesitse  res  eadem  sorte  defluunt,  qua  petuntur, 
nullusque  diuturnus  est  fructus,  qui  scelere  ac  perfidia  partus 
fuerit.  Quo  euenit  ut  Sueones,  paulo  ante  Danise  potitores, 
ne  suae  quidem  salutis  potientes  existerent.  Protinus  enim  a 
Syalandensibus  deleti  laesis  Roluonis  manibus  iusta  exsoluere 
piacula.  Adeo  plerunque  fortunae  saeuitia  ulciscitur,  quod  dole 
ac  fallacia  patratur. 


138  Extract  from  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki 

B.  Hrolfs  Saga  Kraka,  cap.  23 
(ed,  Finnur  Jonsson,  K^benhavn,  1904,  p.  65  ff.) 
SiSan  for  BgtJvarr  leiS  sina  til  HleiSargarSs.  Hann  kemr 
til  konungs  atsetu.  BgSvarr  leiSir  siSan  hest  sinn  a  stall  hja 
konungs  hestum  hinum  beztu  ok  spyrr  engan  at;  gekk  siSan 
inn  i  hgllina,  ok  var  )?ar  fatt  manna.  Hann  sez  utarliga,  ok 
sem  hann  hefir  verit  )7ar  litla  hriS,  heyrir  hann  ]7rausk  ngkkut 
utar  i  hornit  i  einhverjum  staS.  BgSvarr  litr  )7angat  ok  ser, 
at  mannshgnd  kemr  upp  lir  mikilli  beinahriigu,  er  ]?ar  la ; 
hgndin  var  svgrt  mjgk.  BgSvarr  gengr  ]?angat  til  ok  spyrr, 
hverr  J7ar  vaeri  i  beinahriigunni ;  yk  var  honum  svarat  ok  heldr 
oframliga:  "Hgttr  heiti  ek,  Bokki  ssell."  "  Hvi  ertu  her, 
segir  BgSvarr,  eSa  hvat  gerir  J^ii?"  Hgttr  segir:  "  ek  geri 
mer  skjaldborg,  Bokki  ssell."  B^Svarr  sagSi:  "vesall  ertu 
)7innar  skjaldborgar."  BgSvarr  \T\h  til  hans  ok  hnykkir  honum 
upp  ur  beinahriigunni.  Hgttr  kva?5  \k  hatt  viS  ok  maelti : 
"  mi  viltu  mer  bana,  ger  eigi  )?etta,  sva  sem  ek  hefi  nti  vel  um 
biiiz  aSr,  en  )7U  hefir  mi  rotat  i  sundr  skjaldborg  minni,  ok 
hafSa  ek  mi  sva  gert  hana  hava  utan  at  mer,  at  hiin  hefir  hlift 
mer  viS  gllum  hgggum  ykkar,  sva  at  engi  hggg  hafa  komit  a 
mik  lengi,  en  ekki  var  hiin  enn  sva  biiin,  sem  ek  8etlaf5i  hun 
skyldi  verSa."  BgSvarr  maelti :  "  ekki  muntu  fa  skjaldborgina 
lengr."  Hgttr  maelti  ok  gret:  "skaltu  nu  bana  mer,  Bokki 
ssell?  "  BgSvarr  baS  hann  ekki  hafa  hatt,  tok  hann  upp  siSan 
ok  bar  hann  lit  lir  hgllinni  ok  til  vats  ngkkurs,  sem  ]7ar  var 
1  ndnd,  ok  gafu  fair  at  )?essu  gaum,  ok  \6  hann  upp  allan. 
SfSan  gekk  BgSvarr  til  )7ess  riims,  sem  hann  hafSi  aSr  tekit,  ok 
leiddi  eptir  ser  Hgtt  ok  )?ar  setr  hann  Hgtt  hja  ser,  en  hann  er 
sva  hrseddr,  at  skelfr  a  honum  leggr  ok  liSr,  en  \6  j^ykkiz  hann 
skilja,  at  )7essi  maSr  vill  hjalpa  ser.  Eptir  ]7at  kveldar  ok 
drifa  menu  i  hgllina  ok  sja  Hrolfs  kappar,  at  Hgttr  er  settr  a 
bekk  upp,  ok  )?ykkir  ]7eim  sa  maSr  hafa  gert  sik  aerit  djarfan, 
er  fetta  hefir  til  tekit.  lit  tillit  hefir  Hgttr,  )?a  er  hann  ser 
kunningja  sina,  ]?vi  at  hann  hefir  ilt  eitt  af  )?eim  reynt ;  hann 
vill  lifa  gjarnan  ok  fara  aptr  i  beinahnigu  sina,  en  Bg?5varr  heldr 
honum,  sva  at  hann  nair  ekki  i  burtu  at  fara,  ]7vi  at  hann 
jjottiz  ekki  jafnberr  fyrir  hgggum  J7eira,  ef  hann  nseSi  J^angat 


Bothvar  BjarTd  protects  Hott  139 

at  komaz  sem  hann  er  nii.  HirSmenn  hafa  nu  sama  vanda, 
ok  kasta  fyrst  beinum  smam  um  )7vert  golfit  til  BgSvars  ok 
Hattar.  BgSvarr  Isetr,  sem  hann  sjdi  eigi  )?etta.  Hgttr  er  sva 
hreeddr,  at  hann  tekr  eigi  mat  ne  drukk,  ok  J^ykkir  honum  \k 
ok  ]?a  sem  hann  muni  vera  lostinn;  ok  nii  maelti  H^ttr  til 
BgSvars :  "  Bokki  ssell,  mi  ferr  at  )7er  stor  hnuta,  ok  mun  ]7etta 
aetlat  okkr  til  nautJa."  BgSvarr  baS  hann  l?egja;  hann  setr 
vis  holan  lofann  ok  tekr  svd  viS  hnutunni ;  J^ar  fylgir  leggrinn 
meS ;  BoSvarr  sendi  aptr  hniituna  ok  setr  k  }?ann,  sem  kastaSi 
ok  rett  framan  i  hann  meS  sva  harSri  svipan,  at  hann  fekk 
bana;  slo  \k  miklum  otta  yfir  hirSmennina.  Kemr  mi  j^essi 
fregn  fyrir  Hrolf  konung  ok  kappa  hans  upp  i  kastalann,  at 
maSr  mikiliiSligr  se  kominn  til  hallarinnar  ok  hafi  drepit  einn 
hirSmann  hans,  ok  vildu  )?eir  14ta  drepa  manninn.  Hrolf r 
konungr  spurSiz  eptir,  hvart  hirSmaSrinn  hefsi  verit  saklauss 
drepinn.  "pvi  var  naesta,"  sggSu  )7eir.  Komuz  \k  fyrir  Hrolf 
konung  gll  sannindi  her  um.  Hrolf r  konungr  sagSi  )7at  skyldu 
fjarri,  at  drepa  skyldi  manninn — "  hafi  j^it  her  illan  vanda  upp 
tekit,  at  berja  saklausa  menu  beinum;  er  mer  i  )?vi  ovirSing, 
en  ySr  stor  skgmm,  at  gera  slikt;  hefi  ek  jafnan  raett  um  J^etta 
aSr,  ok  hafi  J^it  at  J^essu  engan  gaum  gefit,  ok  hygg  ek,  at  )?essi 
maSr  muni  ekki  alUitill  fyrir  ser,  er  )7er  hafiS  mi  a  leitat,  ok 
kallis  hann.  til  min,  sva  at  ek  viti,  hverr  hann  er."  BgSvarr 
gengr  fyrir  konung  ok  kveSr  hann  kurteisliga.  Konunga  spyrr 
hann  at  nafni.  "HattargriSa  kalla  mik  hirSmenn  ySar,  en 
BgSvarr  heiti  ek."  Konungr  mselti :  "  hverjar  bsetr  viltu  bjoSa 
mer  fyrir  hirSmann  minn?"  BgSvarr  segir:  "til  |7ess  gerSi 
hann,  sem  hann  fekk."  Konungr  maelti :  "  viltu  vera  minn 
maSr  ok  skipa  riim  hans?"  BgSvarr  segir:  "ekki  neita  ek, 
at  vera  ySarr  maSr,  ok  munu  vit  ekki  skiljaz  sva  biiit,  vit 
Hgttr,  ok  dveljaz  user  )?er  baSir,  heldr  en  j^essi  hefir  setit,  elligar 
vit  fgrum  hurt  baQir."  Konungr  maslti :  "  eigi  se  ek  at  honum 
ssemd  en  ek  spara  ekki  mat  vi3  hann."  BgSvarr  gengr  mi  til 
)?ess  riims,  sem  honum  likaSi,  en  ekki  vill  hann  )7at  skipa,  sem 
hinn  hafSi  a5r;  hann  kippir  upp  i  einhverjum  staS  J^remr 
mgnnum,  ok  siSan  settuz  )?eir  Hgttr  )?ar  niSr  ok  innar  i  hgllinni 
en  )7eim  var  skipat.  Heldr  )76tti  mgnnum  odaelt  vi5  BgSvar, 
ok  er  )?eim  hinn  mesti  ihugi  at  honum.     Ok  sem  leiS  at.jolum, 


140  Extract  from  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Krahi 

gerSuz  menn  okdtir.  EgSvarr  spyrr  Hgtt,  hverju  j^etta  ssetti ; 
hann  segir  honum,  at  dyr  eitt  liafi  ]7ar  komit  tva  vetr  i  samt, 
mikit  ok  ogurligt — "  ok  hefir  vsengi  a  bakinu  ok  flygr  )>at 
jafnan ;  tvau  haust  hefir  )7at  nii  hingat  vitjat  ok  gert  mikinn 
skaSa ;  a  |7at  bita  ekki  vapn,  en  kappar  konungs  koma  ekki 
heim,  ]7eir  sem  at  eru  einna  mestir."  BgSvarr  mselti :  "  ekki 
er  hQllin  sva  vel  skipuS,  sem  ek  aetlaSi,  ef  eitt  dyr  skal  her  eySa 
riki  ok  fe  konungsins."  Hgttr  sagSi :  "  )7at  er  ekki  dyr,  heldr 
er  )7at  hit  mesta  trgll."  Nii  kemr  jolaaptann ;  )?a  maelti  kon- 
ungr :  "  nil  vil  ek,  at  menn  se  kyrrir  ok  hljoSir  i  nott,  ok  banna 
ek  gllum  minum  mgnnum  at  ganga  i  ngkkurn  haska  viS  dyrit, 
en  fe  ferr  eptir  )7vi  sem  auSnar ;  menn  mina  vil  ek  ekki  missa." 
Allir  heita  her  goSu  um,  at  gera  eptir  ]7vi,  sem  konungr  bauS. 
B^Svarr  leyndiz  i  burt  um  nottina ;  hann  laetr  Hgtt  fara  me6 
ser,  ok  gerir  hann  j^at  nauSugr  ok  kallaSi  hann  ser  styrt  til 
bana.  BgSvarr  segir,  at  betr  mundi  til  takaz.  peir  ganga  i 
burt  fra  hgllinni,  ok  verSr  BgSvarr  at  bera  hann ;  sva  er  hann 
hraeddr.  Nii  sja  \eu  dyrit ;  ok  )?vi  naest  sepir  Hgttr  slikt,  sem 
hann  ma,  ok  kvaS  dyrit  mundu  gleypa  hann.  BgSvarr  baS 
bikkjuna  hans  l?egja  ok  kastar  honum  niSr  i  mosann,  ok  J>ar 
liggr  hann  ok  eigi  me3  gllu  ohraeddr ;  eigi  J^orir  hann  heim  at 
fara  heldr.  Nii  gengr  BgSvarr  moti  dyrinu ;  |?at  haefir  honum, 
at  sverSit  er  fast  i  umgjgrSinni,  er  hann  vildi  bregSa  ]7vi. 
BgSvarr  eggjar  mi  fast  sverSit  ok  \k  bragSar  i  umgjgrSinni,  ok 
mi  faer  hann  brugSit  umgjgrSinni,  sva  at  sverSit  gengr  lir 
sliSrunum,  ok  leggr  )7egar  undir  bsegi  dyrsins  ok  sva  fast,  at 
stoS  i  hjartanu,  ok  datt  )?a  dyrit  til  jarSar  dautt  niSr.  Eptir 
)7at  ferr  hann  ]?angat  sem  Hgttr  liggr.  BgSvarr  tekr  hann  upp 
ok  berr  J^angat,  sem  dyrit  liggr  dautt.  Hgttr  skelfr  akaft. 
BgSvarr  maelti:  "mi  skaltu  drekka  bloS  dyrsins."  Hann  er 
lengi  tregr,  en  J?6  ]?orir  hann  vist  eigi  annat.  BgSvarr  Isetr 
hann  drekka  tva  sopa  stora ;  hann  let  hann  ok  eta  ngkkut  af 
dyrshjartanu;  eptir  ]7etta  tekr  BgSvarr  til  hans,  ok  attuz  )?eir 
vis  lengi.  BgSvarr  maelti :  "  helzt  ertu  mi  sterkr  orSinn,  ok 
ekki  vaenti  ek,  et  J^ii  hraeSiz  mi  hirSmenn  Hrolfs  konungs." 
Hgttr  sagSi :  "  eigi  mun  ek  |7a  hraeSaz  ok  eigi  )7ik  upp  fra  )?essu." 
"  Vel  er  )?a  or6it,  Hgttr  felagi ;  fgru  vit  mi  til  ok  reisum  upp 
dyrit  ok  biium  sva  um,  at  aSrir  aetli  at  kvikt  muni  vera." 


The  mmister  is  slain  by  Bothvar  and  Hott        141 

peir  gera  nii  sva.  Eptir  )?at  fara  J^eir  heim  ok  hafa  kyrt  um 
sik,  ok  veit  engi  maSr,  hvat  )?eir  hafa  iSjat.  Konungr  spyrr 
um  morguninn,  hvat  )?eir  viti  til  d^frsins,  hvart  }7at  hafi  ngkkut 
)?angat  vitjat  um  nottina;  honum  var  sagt,  at  fe  alt  vseri  heilt 
i  grindum  ok  osakat.  Konungr  bat5  menn  forvitnaz,  hvart 
engi  saei  likindi  til,  at  |7at  hefSi  heim  komit.  VarSmenn  gerSu 
sva  ok  komu  skjott  aptr  ok  sggSu  konungi,  at  dyrit  faeri  )?ar 
ok  heldr  geyst  at  borginni.  Konungr  baS  hirt5menn  vera 
hrausta  ok  duga  mi  hvern  eptir  )>vi,  sem  hann  hefSi  hug  til,  ok 
raSa  af  ovaett  j^enna ;  ok  sva  var  gert,  sem  konungr  bauS,  at 
)7eir  bjuggu  sik  til  )?ess.  Konungr  horfSi  a  dyrit  ok  maelti 
sfSan:  *'enga  se  ek  fgr  a  dyrinu,  en  hverr  vill  mi  taka  kaup 
einn  ok  ganga  i  moti  )7vi?  "  BgSvarr  mselti :  "  J?at  vseri  naesta 
hrausts  manns  forvitnisbot.  Hgttr  felagi,  rektu  mi  af  \qx 
illmselit  )7at',  at  menn  lata,  sem  engi  krellr  ne  dugr  muni  i  j^er 
vera;  far  mi  ok  drep  )?u  dyrit;  mattu  sja,  at  engi  er  allfiiss  til 
annarra."  "  Ja,"  sagSi  Hgttr, "  ek  mun  til  J?essa  raSaz."  Konungr 
mselti:  ''ekki  veit  ek,  hvaSan  }?essi  hreysti  er  at  J7er  komin, 
Hgttr,  ok  mikit  hefir  um  J^ik  skipaz  a  skammri  stundu." 
Hgttr  maelti :  "  gef  mer  til  sverSit  Gullinhjalta,  er  J?u  heldr  a, 
ok  skal  ek  fa  fella  d^^rit  eSa  fa  bana."  Hrolf  konungr  maelti : 
"l^etta  sverS  er  ekki  beranda  nema  )7eim  manni,  sem  baeSi  er 
goSr  drengr  ok  hraustr."  Hgttr  sagSi:  "sva  skaltu  til  aetla, 
at  mer  se  sva  hattat."  Konungr  maelti :  "  hvat  ma  vita,  nema 
fleira  hafi  skipz  um  hagi  J^ina,  en  sja  ]?ykkir,  en  faestir  menn 
)7ykkjaz  J^ik  kenna,  at  \vi  ser  enn  sami  maSr;  mi  tak  viS 
sverSinu  ok  njot  manna  bezt,  ef  fetta  er  til  unnit."  SiSan 
gengr  Hgttr  at  dyrinu  alldjarfliga  ok  hj^ggr  til  )?ess,  fa  er  hann 
kemr  i  hgggfaeri,  ok  dyrit  fellr  niSr  dautt.  BgSvarr  maelti: 
"sjaiS  mi,  herra,  hvat  hann  hefir  til  unnit."  Konungr  segir: 
*'  vist  hefir  hann  mikit  skipaz,  en  ekki  hefir  Hgttr  einn  dyrit 
drepit,  heldr  hefir  fii  fat  gert."  BgSvarr  segir:  "vera  ma,  at 
sva  se."  Konungr  segir:  "  vissa  ek,  fa  er  fii  komt  her,  at  fair 
mundu  finir  jafningjar  vera,  en  fat  fykki  mer  fo  fitt  verk 
fraegiligast,  at  f li  hefir  gert  her  annan  kappa,  far  er  Hgttr  er, 
ok  ovaenligr  fotti  til  mikillar  giptu;  ok  mi  vil  ek  at  hann  heiti 
eigi  Hgttr  lengr  ok  skal  hann  heita  Hjalti  upp  fra  f  essu ;  skaltu 
heita  eptir  sverSinu  Gullinhjalta." 


142    Translation  of  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  chap.  23 

Then  Bothvar  went  on  his  way  to  Leire,  and  came  to  the 
king's  dwelling. 

Bothvar  stabled  his  horse  by  the  king's  best  horses,  without 
asking  leave;  and  then  he  went  into  the  hall,  and  there  were 
few  men  there.  He  took  a  seat  near  the  door,  and  when  he 
had  been  there  a  httle  time  he  heard  a  rummaging  in  a  corner. 
Bothvar  looked  that  way  and  saw  that  a  man's  hand  came  up 
out  of  a  great  heap  of  bones  which  lay  there,  and  the  hand  was 
very  black.  Bothvar  went  thither  and  asked  who  was  there  in 
the  heap  of  bones. 

Then  an  answer  came,  in  a  very  weak  voice,  "Hott  is  my 
name,  good  fellow." 

"Why  art  thou  here?"  said  Bothvar,  "and  what  art  thou 
doing?" 

Hott  said,  "I  am  making  a  shield- wall  for  myself,  good 
fellow." 

Bothvar  said,  "Out  on  thee  and  thy  shield- wall ! "  and 
gripped  him  and  jerked  him  up  out  of  the  heap  of  bones. 

Then  Hott  cried  out  and  said,  "  Now  thou  wilt  be  the  death 
of  me :  do  not  do  so.  I  had  made  it  all  so  snug,  and  now  thou 
hast  scattered  in  pieces  my  shield- wall;  and  I  had  built  it  so 
high  all  round  myself  that  it  has  protected  me  against  all  your 
blows,  so  that  for  long  no  blows  have  come  upon  me,  and  yet  it 
was  not  so  arranged  as  I  meant  it  should  be." 

Then  Bothvar  said,  "Thou  wilt  not  build  thy  shield- wall 
any  longer."  ^ 

Hott  said,  weeping,  "Wilt  thou  be  the  death  of  me,  good 
fellow?"  Bothvar  told  him  not  to  make  a  noise,  and  then 
took  him  up  and  bore  him  out  of  the  hall  to  some  water  which 
was  close  by,  and  washed  him  from  head  to  foot.  Few  paid 
any  heed  to  this. 

Then  Bothvar  went  to  the  place  which  he  had  taken  before, 
and  led  Hott  with  him,  and  set  Hott  by  his  side.  But  Hott 
was  so  afraid  that  he  was  trembhng  in  every  Mmb,  and  yet  he 
seemed  to  know  that  this  man  would  help  him. 

After  that  it  grew  to  evening,  and  men  crowded  into  the 
hall:  and  Rolf's  warriors  saw  that  Hott  was  seated  upon  the 
bench.     And  it  seemed  to  them  that  the  man  must  be  bold 


Bothvar  Bjarhi  protects  Hott  143 

enough  who  had  taken  upon  himself  to  put  him  there.  Hott 
had  an  ill  countenance  when  he  saw  his  acquaintances,  for  he 
had  received  naught  but  evil  from  them.  He  wished  to  save 
his  hfe  and  go  back  to  his  bone-heap,  but  Bothvar  held  him 
tightly  so  that  he  could  not  go  away.  For  Hott  thought  that, 
if  he  could  get  back  into  his  bone-heap,  he  would  not  be  as 
much  exposed  to  their  blows  as  he  was. 

Now  the  retainers  did  as  before ;  and  first  of  all  they  tossed 
small  bones  across  the  floor  towards  Bothvar  and  Hott.  Both- 
var pretended  not  to  see  this.  Hott  was  so  afraid  that  he 
neither  ate  nor  drank ;  and  every  moment  he  thought  he  would 
be  smitten. 

And  now  Hott  said  to  Bothvar,  "Good  fellow,  now  a  great 
knuckle  bone  is  coming  towards  thee,  aimed  so  as  to  do  us  sore 
injury."  Bothvar  told  him  to  hold  his  tongue,  and  put  up 
the  hollow  of  his  palm  against  the  knuckle  bone  and  caught  it, 
and  the  leg  bone  was  joined  on  to  the  knuckle  bone.  Then 
Bothvar  sent  the  knuckle  bone  back,  and  hurled  it  straight  at 
the  man  who  had  thrown  it,  with  such  a  swift  blow  that  it  was 
the  death  of  him.     Then  great  fear  came  over  the  retainers. 

Now  news  came  to  Eang  Rolf  and  his  men  up  in  the  castle 
that  a  stately  man  had  come  to  the  hall  and  killed  a  retainer, 
and  that  the  retainers  wished  to  kill  the  man.  Ejng  Rolf 
asked  whether  the  retainer  who  had  been  killed  had  given  any 
offence.  "Next  to  none,"  they  said:  then  all  the  truth  of  the 
mftitter  came  up  before  King  Rolf. 

King  Rolf  said  that  it  should  be  far  from  them  to  kill  the 
man:  "You  have  taken  up  an  evil  custom  here  in  pelting  men 
with  bones  without  quarrel.  It  is  a  dishonour  to  me  and  a 
great  shame  to  you  to  do  so.  I  have  spoken  about  it  before, 
and  you  have  paid  no  attention.  I  think  that  this  man  whom 
you  have  assailed  must  be  a  man  of  no  small  valour.  Call 
him  to  me,  so  that  I  may  know  who  he  is." 

Bothvar  went  before  the  king  and  greeted  him  courteously. 
The  king  asked  him  his  name.  "  Your  retainers  call  me  Hott's 
protector,  but  my  name  is  Bothvar." 

The  king  said,  "  What  compensation  wilt  thou  offer  me  for 
my  retainer?" 


144    Translation  of  the  Saga  of  Rolf  KraM,  chap,  23 

Botlivar  said,  "He  only  got  what  he  asked  for." 
The  king  said,  "  Wilt  thou  become  my  man  and  fill  his  place  ?  " 
Bothvar  said,  "I  do  not  refuse  to  be  your  man,  but  Hott 
and  I  must  not  part  so.  And  we  must  sit  nearer  to  thee  than 
this  man  whom  I  have  slain  has  sat;  otherwise  we  will  both 
depart  together."  The  king  said,  "I  do  not  see  much  credit  in 
Hott,  but  I  will  not  grudge  him  meat."  Then  Bothvar  went 
to  the  seat  that  seemed  good  to  him,  and  would  not  fill  that 
which  the  other  had  before.  He  pulled  up  three  men  in  one 
place,  and  then  he  and  Hott  sat  down  there  higher  in  the  hall 
than  the  place  which  had  been  given  to  them.  The  men  thought 
Bothvar  overbearing,  and  there  was  the  greatest  ill  will  among 
tjiem  concerning  him. 

And  when  it  drew  near  to  Christmas,  men  became  gloomy. 
Bothvar  asked  Hott  the  reason  of  this.  Hott  said  to  him  that 
for  two  winters  together  a  wild  beast  had  come,  great  and  awful, 
"And  it  has  wings  on  its  back,  and  flies.  For  two  autumns 
it  has  attacked  us  here  and  done  much  damage.  No  weapon 
will  wound  it:  and  the  champions  of  the  king,  those  who  are 
the  greatest,  come  not  back." 

Bothvar  said,  "  This  hall  is  not  so  well  arrayed  as  I  thought, 
if  one  beast  can  lay  waste  the  kingdom  and  the  cattle  of  the 
king."   Hott  said,  "It  is  no  beast:  it  is  the  greatest  troll." 

Now  Christmas-eve  came;  then  said  the  king,  "Now  my 
will  is  that  men  to-night  be  still  and  quiet,  and  I  forbid  all  my 
men  to  run  into  any  peril  with  this  beast.  It  must  be  with 
the  cattle  as  fate  will  have  it:  but  I  do  not  wish  to  lose  my 
men."  All  men  promised  to  do  as  the  king  commanded. 
But  Bothvar  went  out  in  secret  that  night;  he  caused  Hott 
to  go  with  him,  but  Hott  did  that  only  under  compulsion, 
and  said  that  it  would  be  the  death  of  him.  Bothvar  said 
that  he  hoped  that  it  would  be  better  than  that.  They  went 
away  from  the  hall,  and  Bothvar  had  to  carry  Hott,  so  frightened 
was  he.  Now  they  saw  the  beast;  and  thereupon  Hott  cried 
out  as  loud  as  he  could,  and  said  that  the  beast  would  swallow 
him.  Bothvar  said,  "Be  silent,  thou  dog,"  and  threw  him 
down  in  the  mire.  And  there  he  lay  in  no  small  fear ;  but  he 
did  not  dare  to  go  home,  any  the  more. 


Bothvar  slays  the  monster  145 

Now  Bothvar  went  against  the  beast,  and  it  happened  that 
his  sword  was  fast  in  his  sheath  when  he  wished  to  draw  it. 
Bothvar  now  tugged  at  his  sword,  it  moved,  he  wrenched  the 
scabbard  so  that  the  sword  came  out.  And  at  once  he  plunged 
it  into  the  beast's  shoulder  so  mightily  that  it  pierced  him  to 
the  heart,  and  the  beast  fell  down  dead  to  the  earth.  After 
that  Bothvar  went  where  Hott  lay.  Bothvar  took  him  up  and 
bore  him  to  where  the  beast  lay  dead.  Hott  was  trembhng  all 
over.  Bothvar  said,  "Now  must  thou  drink  the  blood  of  the 
beast."  For  long  Hott  was  unwilhng,  and  yet  he  did  not  dare 
to  do  anything  else.  Bothvar  made  him  drink  two  great  sups ; 
also  he  made  him  eat  somewhat  of  the  heart  of  the  beast. 

After  that  Bothvar  turned  to  Hott,  and  they  fought  a  long 
time. 

Bothvar  said,  "  Thou  hast  now  become  very  strong,  and  I  do 
not  beheve  that  thou  wilt  now  fear  the  retainers  of  King  Rolf." 

Hott  said,  "I  shall  not  fear  them,  nor  thee  either,  from  now 
on." 

"That  is  good,  fellow  Hott.  Let  us  now  go  and  raise  up 
the  beast,  and  so  array  him  that  others  may  think  that  he  is 
still  ahve."  And  they  did  so.  After  that  they  went  home,  and 
were  quiet,  and  no  man  knew  what  they  had  achieved. 

In  the  morning  the  king  asked  what  news  there  was  of  the 
beast,  and  whether  it  had  made  any  attack  upon  them  in  the 
night.  And  answer  was  made  to  the  king,  that  all  the  cattle 
were  safe  and  uninjured  in  their  folds.  The  king  bade  his  men 
examine  whether  any  trace  could  be  seen  of  the  beast  having 
visited  them.  The  watchers  did  so,  and  came  quickly  back  to 
the  king  with  the  news  that  the  beast  was  making  for  the 
castle,  and  in  great  fury.  The  king  bade  his  retainers  be  brave, 
and  each  play  the  man  according  as  he  had  spirit,  and  do  away 
with  this  monster.  And  they  did  as  the  king  bade,  and  made 
them  ready. 

Then  the  king  faced  towards  the  beast  and  said,  "I  see  no 
sign  of  movement  in  the  beast.  Who  now  will  undertake  to 
go  against  it?" 

Bothvar  said,  "  That  would  be  an  enterprise  for  a  man  of 
true  valour.    Fellow  Hott,  now  clear  thyself  of  that  ill-repute, 

c.  B.  10 


146  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

in  that  men  hold  that  there  is  no  spirit  or  valour  in  thee. 
Go  now  and  do  thou  kill  the  beast;  thou  canst  see  that  there 
is  no  one  else  who  is  forward  to  do  it." 

"Yea,"  said  Hott,  "I  will  undertake  this." 
The  king  said,  "  I  do  not  know  whence  this  valour  has  come 
upon  thee,  Hott;    and  much  has  changed  in  thee  in  a  short 
time." 

Hott  said,  "Give  me  the  sword  Goldenboss,  Gulhnhjalti, 
which  thou  dost  wield,  and  I  will  fell  the  beast  or  take  my  death." 
Rolf  the  king  said,  "That  sword  cannot  be  borne  except  by 
a  man  who  is  both  a  good  warrior  and  vahant."  Hott  said, 
"So  shalt  thou  ween  that  I  am  a  man  of  that  kind."  The 
king  said,  "  How  can  one  know  that  more  has  not  changed  in 
thy  temper  than  can  be  seen?  Few  men  would  know  thee 
for  the  same  man.  Now  take  the  sword  and  have  joy  of  it, 
if  this  deed  is  accompUshed."  Then  Hott  went  boldly  to  the 
beast  and  smote  at  it  when  he  came  within  reach,  and  the 
beast  fell  down  dead.  Bothvar  said,  "See  now,  my  lord,  what 
he  has  achieved."  The  king  said,  "Verily,  he  has  altered  much, 
but  Hott  has  not  killed  the  beast  alone,  rather  hast  thou  done 
it."  Bothvar  said,  "It  may  be  that  it  is  so."  The  king  said, 
"I  knew  when  thou  didst  come  here  that  few  would  be  thine 
equals.  But  this  seems  to  me  nevertheless  thy  most  honourable 
work,  that  thou  hast  made  here  another  warrior  of  Hott,  who 
did  not  seem  shaped  for  much  luck.  And  now  I  will  that  he 
shall  be  called  no  longer  Hott,  but  Hjalti  from  this  time ;  thou 
shalt  be  called  after  the  sword  Gulhnhjalti  (Goldenboss)." 


C.    Extracts  prom  Grettis  Saga 

(ed.  G.  Magniisson,  1853;  R.  C.  Boer,  1900) 

(a)     Glam  episode  (caps.  32-35) 

porhallr  het  mat5r,  er  bj6  a  porhallsst^Sum  i  Forsaeludal. 
Forsseludalr  er  upp  af  Vatnsdal.  porhallr  var  Grimsson, 
porhallssonar,  FriSmundarsonar,  er  nam  Forsaeludal.  porhallr 
atti  psb  konu,  er  GuSriin  het.  Grimr  het  sonr  j^eira,  en  puriSr 
dottir;   J^au  varu  vel  a  legg  komin.     porhallr  var  vel  auSigr 


Glam  as  a  servant  147 

maSr,  ok  mest  at  kvikfe,  sv4  at  engi  maSr  atti  jafnmart  gan- 
ganda  fe,  sem  hann.  Ekki  var  hann  hgfsingi,  en  ]?6  skilrikr 
bondi.  par  var  reimt  mjgk,  ok  fekk  hann  varla  sauSamann, 
sva  at  honum  foetti  duga.  Hann  leitaSi  raSs  viS  marga  vitra 
menn,  hvat  hann  skyldi  til  bragSs  taka ;  en  engi  gat  J^at  raS  til 
gefit,  er  dygSi.  porhallr  reit5  til  J?ings  hvert  sumar.  Hann 
atti  hesta  goSa.  pat  var  eitt  sumar  a  alj?ingi,  at  porhallr 
gekk  til  biiSar  Skapta  Iggmanns,  poroddssonar.  Skapti  var 
manna  vitrastr,  ok  heilraSr,  ef  hann  var  beiddr.  pat  skildi 
metJ  ]7eim  feSgum:  poroddr  var  forspar  ok  kallaSr  undir- 
hyggjumaSr  af  sumum  mgnnum,  en  Skapti  lagSi  j^at  til  meS 
hverjum  manni,  sem  hann  aetlaSi  at  duga  skyldi,  ef  eigi  vaeri 
af  J?vi  brugSit;  J?vi  var  hann  kallaSr  betrfeSrungr.  porhallr 
gekk  i  bus  Skapta;  hann  fagna^i  vel  porhalH,  J^vi  hann  vissi, 
at  hann  var  rikr  maSr  at  fe,  ok  spurSi  hvat  at  tiSendum  vaeri. 

porhallr  mselti:    "HeilraeSi  vilda  ek  af  ySr  J'iggja." 

"f  htlum  foerum  em  ek  til  J^ess,"  sagSi  Skapti;  "eSa  hvat 
stendr  J^ik?" 

porhallr  maelti:  "pat  er  sva  hdttat,  at  mer  helz  litt  a 
sauSamgnnum.  VerSr  J?eim  heldr  klakksart,  en  sumir  gera 
engar  lyktir  a.  Vill  mi  engi  til  taka,  sa  er  kunnigt  er  til,  hvat 
fyrir  byr." 

Skapti  svarar:  "par  mun  hggja  meinvsettr  ngkkur,  er 
menn  eru  tregari  til  at  geyma  siSr  J?ins  fjar  en  annarra  manna. 
Nu  fjnrir  f>vi,  at  )?u  hefir  at  mer  raS  sott,  J^a  skal  ek  fa  ]7er  sauSa- 
mann,  J^ann  er  Glamr  heitir,  aettaSr  or  Svi}?j6S,  or  Sylgsdglum, 
er  lit  kom  i  fyrra  sumar,  mild  11  ok  sterkr,  ok  ekki  mjgk  viS 
al)>ySu  skap." 

porhallr  kvaz  ekki  um  ]7at  gefa,  ef  hann  geymdi  vel  fjarins; 
Skapti  sagSi  gSrum  eigi  vaent  horfa,  ef  hann  geymdi  eigi  fyrir 
afls  sakir  ok  araeSis;  porhallr  gekk  fa  lit.  petta  var  at  J^ing- 
lausnum. 

porhalli  var  vant  hesta  tveggja  Ijosbleikra,  ok  for  sjalfr  at 
leita ;  af  J>vi  J^ykkjaz  menn  vita,  at  hann  var  ekki  mikilmenni. 
Hann  gekk  upp  undir  SleSas  ok  suSr  meS  fjalU  J?vi,  er  Ar- 
mannsfell  heitir.  pa  sa  hann,  hvar  maSr  for  ofan  or  GoSaskogi 
ok  bar  hris  a  hesti.  Bratt  bar  saman  fund  J^eira;  porhallr 
spurSi  hann  at  nafni,  en  hann  kvez  Glamr  heita.     pessi  maSr 

10—2 


148  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

var  mikill  vexti  ok  undarligr  i  yfirbragSi,  blaeygSr  ok  opineygSr, 
tilfgrar  a  harslit.  porhalli  bra  ngkkut  i  brun,  er  hann  sa  )?enna 
mann;    en  ]f6  skildi  hann,  at  honum  mundi  til  J?essa  visat. 

"Hvat  er  J^er  bezt  hent  at  vinna?"  segir  porhallr. 

Glamr  kvatS  ser  vel  hent  at  geyma  sauSfjar  a  vetrum. 

"Viltu  geyma  sauSfjar  mins?"  segir  porhallr ;  "gaf  Skapti 
J?ik  a  mitt  vald." 

"Sva  mun  ]?er  hentust  min  vist,  at  ek  fari  sjalfraSr;  J^vi  ek 
em  skapstyggr,  ef  mer  likar  eigi  vel,"  sagSi  Glamr. 

"Ekki  mun  mer  mein  at  J?vi,"  segir  porhallr,  "ok  vil  ek, 
at  ]>u  farir  til  mm." 

"Gera  ma  ek  J?at,"  segir  Glamr;  "eSa  eru  J?ar  ngkkur 
vandhcefi  a?" 

"Eeimt  )>ykkir  J>ar  vera,"  sagSi  porhallr. 

"Ekki  hrseSumz  ek  flykur  J^ser,"  sagSi  Glamr,  "ok  ]?ykkir 
mer  at  6daiiflig[r]a." 

"pess  muntu  viS  J?urfa,"  segir  porhallr,  "ok  hentar  J?ar 
betr,  at  vera  eigi  alllitill  fyrir  ser." 

Eptir  )?at  kaupa  J?eir  saman,  ok  skal  Glamr  koma  at  vetr- 
nottum.  SiSan  skildu  J^eir,  ok  fann  porhallr  hesta  sina,  )?ar 
sem  hann  hafsi  nyleitat.  KeitS  porhallr  heim,  ok  J?akkaSi 
Skapta  sinn  velgerning. 

Sumar  leiS  af,  ok  fretti  porhallr  ekki  til  sauSamanns,  ok 
engi  kunni  skyn  a  honum.  En  at  anefndum  tima  kom  hann 
a  porhallsstaSi.  Tekr  bondi  viS  honum  vel,  en  gllum  gSrum 
gaz  ekki  at  honum,  en  husfreyju  j>6  minst.  Hann  tok  vi5 
fjarvarSveizlu,  ok  varS  honum  litit  fyrir  J?vi;  hann  var  hljoS- 
mikill  ok  dimmraddaSr,  ok  feit  stgkk  allt  saman,  )7egar  hann 
hoaSi.  Kirkja  var  a  porhallsstgSum ;  ekki  vildi  Glamr  til 
hennar  koma;  hann  var  osgngvinn  ok  trulauss,  stirfinn  ok 
viSskotaillr ;    gllum  var  hann  hvimleiSr. 

Nu  lei?5  sva  J>ar  til  er  kemr  atfangadagr  jola.  pa  stoS  Glamr 
snemma  upp  ok  kallaSi  til  matar  sins. 

Husfreyja  svarar:  "Ekki  er  pat  hattr  kristinna  manna,  at 
mataz  J^enna  dag,  J?viat  a  morgin  er  joladagr  hinn  fyrsti,"  segir 
hon,  "ok  er  pYi  fyrst  sky  It  at  fasta  i  dag." 

Hann  svarar:  "Marga  hindrvitni  hafi  J^er,  J?a  er  ek  se  til 
enskis  koma.     Veit  ek  eigi,  at  mgnnum  fari  mi  betr  at,  heldr 


Gla/m  is  slain  149 

en  J7a,  er  menn  foru  ekki  me3  slikt.  potti  mer  'pk  betri 
siSr,  er  menn  varu  heiSnir  kallaSir;  ok  vil  ek  mat  minn  en 
engar  refjur." 

Husfreyja  maelti:  "Vist  veit  ek,  at  J?er  mun  ilia  faraz  i 
dag,  ef  J7U  tekr  J^etta  illbrigSi  til." 

Glamr  baS  hana  taka  mat  i  staS ;  kvaS  henni  annat  skyldu 
vera  verra.  Hon  J^orSi  eigi  annat,  en  at  gera,  sem  hann  vildi. 
Ok  er  hann  var  mettr,  gekk  hann  ut,  ok  var  heldr  gustillr. 
VeSri  var  sva  farit,  at  myrkt  var  um  at  litaz,  ok  flggraSi  or 
drifa,  ok  gnymikit,  ok  versnaSi  mjgk  sem  k  leiS  daginn.  HeyrSu 
menn  til  sauSamanns  gndverCan  daginn,  en  miSr  er  a  leiS  daginn. 
Tok  J^a  at  fjiika,  ok  gert5i  a  hriS  um  kveldit;  komu  menn  til 
tiSa,  ok  leiS  sva  fram  at  dagsetri ;  eigi  kom  Glamr  heim.  Var 
}>a  um  talat,  hvart  bans  skyldi  eigi  leita;  en  fyrir  J7vi,  at  hriS 
var  a  ok  niSamyrkr,  J^d  varS  ekki  af  leitinni.  Kom  hann  eigi 
heim  jolanottina;  bi5u  menn  sva  fram  um  tiSir.  At  cernum 
degi  foru  menn  i  leitina,  ok  fundu  feit  viSa  i  fgnnum,  lamit  af 
ofviSri  eSa  hlaupit  a  fjgll  upp.  pvinaest  komu  j^eir  a  traSk 
mikinn  ofarhga  i  dalnum.  potti  )?eim  J7vi  likt,  sem  }>ar  hefSi 
glimt  verit  heldr  sterkliga,  }?viat  grjotit  var  viSa  upp  leyst,  ok 
sva  jgrSin.  peir  hugSu  at  vandUga  ok  sa,  hvar  Glamr  la,  skamt 
a  brott  fra  J?eim.  Hann  var  dauSr,  ok  blar  sem  Hel,  en  digr  sem 
naut.  peim  bauS  af  honum  ofekt  mikla,  ok  hraus  )?eim  mjok 
hugr  vis  honum.  En  ]?6  leituSu  )?eir  viS  at  foera  hann  til 
kirkju,  ok  gatu  ekki  komit  honum,  nema  a  einn  gilsj^rgm  J?ar 
skamt  of  an  fra  ser;  ok  foru  heim  viS  sva  biiit,  ok  SQgSu  bonda 
}>enna  atburS.  Hann  spurSi,  hvat  Glami  mundi  hafa  at  bana 
orSit.  peir  kvaSuz  rakit  hafa  spor  sva  stor,  sem  keraldsbotni 
vseri  niSr  skelt  J?aSan  fra,  sem  traSkrinn  var,  ok  upp  undir  bjgrg 
)?au,  er  J^ar  varu  ofarhga  i  dalnum,  ok  fylgSu  )>ar  meS  bloSdrefjar 
miklar.  pat  drogu  menn  saman,  at  sii  meinvaBttr,  er  aSr 
hafSi  [)>ar]  verit,  mundi  hafa  deytt  Glam ;  en  hann  mundi  f engit 
hafa  henni  ngkkurn  averka,  J^ann  er  tekit  hafi.  til  fulls, 
J^viat  vis  }7a  meinvsetti  hefir  aldri  vart  orSit  siSan.  Annan 
joladag  var  enn  til  farit  at  foera  Glam  til  kirkju.  Varu  eykir 
fyrir  beittir,  ok  gatu  )?eir  hvergi  foert  hann,  J^egar  slettlendit 
var  ok  eigi  var  forbrekkis  at  fara.  Gengu  mi  fra  viS  sva  biiit. 
Hinn  J?riSja  dag  for  prestr  meS  }?eim,  ok  leituSu  allan  daginn, 


150  Extracts  Jrom  Grettis  Saga 

ok  Glamr  fannz  eigi.  Eigi  vildi  prestr  optar  til  fara;  en 
sauSamaSr  fannz,  J^egar  prestr  var  eigi  i  ferS.  Letu  peh  J?a 
fyrir  vinnaz,  at  foera  hann  til  kirkju;  ok  dysjuSu  hann  J^ar,  sem 
)7a  var  hann  kominn.  Litlu  siSar  urSu  menn  varir  vi5  J>at,  at 
Glamr  la  eigi  kyrr.  VarS  mgnnum  at  J?vi  mikit  mein,  sva 
at  margir  fellu  i  ovit,  ef  sa  hann,  en  sumir  heldu  eigi  vitinu. 
pegar  eptir  John  J^ottuz  menn  sja  hann  heima  J?ar  a  boenum. 
UrSu  menn  akafliga  hrseddir ;  stukku  pa,  margir  menn  i  brott. 
pvinaest  tok  Glamr  at  riSa  hiisum  a  naetr,  sva  at  la  viS  brotum. 
Gekk  hann  )?a  naliga  naetr  ok  daga.  Varla  J^orSu  menn  at 
fara  upp  i  dahnn,  J^oat  aetti  nog  ^rendi.  potti  mgnnum  ]?ar  i 
heraSinu  mikit  mein  at  J^essu. 

Um  varit  fekk  porhallr  ser  hjon  ok  gerSi  bii  a  jgrSu  sinni. 
Tok  pk  at  minka  aptrgangr,  meSan  solargangr  var  mestr.  LeiS 
sva  fram  a  miSsumar.  petta  sumar  kom  lit  skip  i  Hunavatni ; 
par  var  a  sa  maSr,  er  porgautr  het.  Hann  var  litlendr  at  kyni, 
mikill  ok  sterkr;  hann  hafSi  tveggja  manna  afl;  hann  var 
lauss  ok  einn  fyrir  ser;  hann  vildi  fa  starfa  ngkkurn,  )?vi(at) 
hann  var  felauss.  porhallr  reiS  til  skips  ok  fann  porgaut; 
spurSi  ef  hann  vildi  vinna  fyrir  honum;  porgautr  kvaS  J^at 
vel  mega  vera,  ok  kvez  eigi  vanda  }7at. 

"Sva  skaltu  viS  biiaz,"  segir  porhallr,  "sem  J^ar  se  ekki 
veslingsmgnnum  hent  at  vera,  fyrir  aptrggngum  J^eim,  er  J^ar 
hafa  verit  um  hris,  en  ek  vil  ekki  ]?ik  a  talar  draga." 

porgautr  svarar:  "Eigi  J^ykkjumz  ek  upp  gefinn,  J^oat  ek 
sja  smavafur;  mun  J?a  eigi  gSrum  daelt,  ef  ek  hraeSumz;  ok  ekki 
bregS  ek  vist  minni  fyrir  fat." 

Nu  semr  J?eim  vel  kaupstefnan,  ok  skal  porgautr  gseta 
sauSfjar  at  vetri. 

LeiS  mi  af  sumarit.  Tok  porgautr  viS  fenu  at  vetrnattum. 
Vel  likaSi  gllum  viS  hann.  Jafnan  kom  Glamr  heim  ok  reiS 
hiisum.  pat  ]76tti  porgauti  allkathgt,  ok  kvaS,  *'J?r8eUnn  J?urfa 
mundu  naer  at  ganga,  ef  ek  hraeSumz."  porhallr  baS  hann  hafa 
fatt  um;    "er  bezt,  at  J^it  reyniS  ekki  meS  ykkr." 

porgautr  maelti:  "Sannliga  er  skekinn  J?r6ttr  or  ySr;  ok 
dett  ek  eigi  niSr  milU  doegra  viS  skraf  )?etta." 

Nu  for  sva  fram  um  vetrinn  allt  til  jola.  Atfangakveld 
jola  for  sauSamaSr  til  fjar. 


Glam  ^^ walks"  after  death  151 

pa  maelti  hiisfreyja:  "purfa  J?cetti  mer,  at  nii  foeri  eigi  at 
fornum  brggSum." 

Hann  svarar:  "Ver  eigi  hrsedd  um  J^at,  hiisfreyja,"  sagSi 
hann;  "verSa  mun  eitthvert  sgguligt,  ef  ek  kem  ekki  aptr." 
SiSan  gekk  hann  aptr  til  f jar  sins.  VeSr  var  heldr  kalt,  ok  f jiik 
mikit.  pvi  var  porgautr  vanr,  at  koma  heim,  J^a  er  halfr^ikkvat 
var ;  en  mi  kom  hann  ekki  heim  i  J^at  mund.  Komu  ti?5amenn, 
sem  vant  var.  pat  j^otti  mgnnum  eigi  olikt  4  horfaz  sem  fyrr. 
Bondi  vildi  leita  lata  eptir  sauSamanni,  en  ti(5amenn  tglduz 
undan,  ok  sggSuz  eigi  mundu  hsetta  ser  lit  i  trgllahendr  um 
naetr;  ok  treystiz  bondi  eigi  at  fara,  ok  varS  ekki  af  leitinni. 
Joladag,  er  menn  varu  mettir,  foru  menn  til  ok  leituSu  sauSa- 
manns.  Gengu  J^eir  fjnrst  til  dysjar  Glams,  J>viat  menn  setluSu 
af  hans  vgldum  mundi  orSit  um  hvarf  sauSamanns.  En  er 
)>eir  komu  naer  dysinni,  sau  J^eir  )7ar  mikil  tiSendi,  ok  )7ar  fundu 
J7eir  sauSamann,  ok  var  hann  brotinn  a  hals,  ok  lamit  sundr 
hvert  bein  i  honum.  SiSan  foerSu  )?eir  hann  til  kirkju,  ok 
varS  engum  manni  mein  at  porgauti  siSan.  En  Glamr  tok  at 
magnaz  af  nyju.  GerSi  hann  mi  sva  mikit  af  ser,  at  menn  allir 
stukku  brott  af  porhallsstgSum,  litan  bondi  einn  ok  hiisfreyja. 
NautamaSr  hafsi  J^ar  verit  lengi  hinn  sami.  Vildi  porhallr 
hann  ekki  lausan  lata  fyrir  goSvilja  sakir  ok  geymslu.  Hann 
var  mjgk  viS  aldr,  ok  J?6tti  honum  mikit  fyrir,  at  fara  a  brott ; 
sa  hann  ok,  at  allt  for  at  onytju,  J^at  er  bondi  atti,  ef  engi 
geymdi.  Ok  einn  tima  eptir  miSjan  vetr  var  )?at  einn  morgin, 
at  hiisfreyja  for  til  fjoss,  at  mjolka  kyr  eptir  tima.  pa  var 
alljost,  J?viat  engi  treystiz  fyrr  liti  at  vera  annarr  en  nautamaSr ; 
hann  for  lit,  J^egar  lysti.  Hon  heyrsi  brak  mikit  i  fjosit,  ok 
beljan  gskurliga ;  hon  hljop  inn  oepandi  ok  kvaz  eigi  vita,  hver 
odoemi  um  vseri  i  fjosinu.  Bondi  gekk  lit  ok  kom  til  nautanna, 
ok  stangaSi  hvert  annat.  potti  honum  )?ar  eigi  gott,  ok  gekk 
innar  at  hlgSunni.  Hann  sa,  hvar  la  nautamaSr,  ok  hafSi 
hgfuSit  i  gSrum  basi  en  foetr  i  gSrum;  hann  la  a  bak  aptr. 
Bondi  gekk  at  honum  ok  J^reifaSi  um  hann;  finnr  bratt,  at 
hann  er  dauSr  ok  sundr  hryggrinn  i  honum.  Var  hann  brotinn 
um  bdshelluna.  Nii  J^otti  bonda  eigi  vaert,  ok  for  i  brott  af 
boenum  meS  allt  fat,  sem  hann  matti  i  brott  flytja.  En  allt 
kvikfe  j^at,  sem  eptir  var,   deyddi  G14mr.     Ok  J^vinssst  for 


152  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

hann  um  allan  dalinn  ok  eyddi  alia  boei  upp  fra  Tungu.  Var 
porhallr  ]>k  me?5  vinum  sinum  )?at  [sem]  eptir  var  vetrarins. 
Engi  maSr  mdtti  fara  upp  i  dalinn  meS  best  eSr  hund,  J?viat  J^at 
var  J?egar  drepit.  En  er  varaSi,  ok  solargangr  var  sem  mestr, 
letti  heldr  aptrg^ngunum.  Vildi  porhallr  nii  fara  aptr  til  lands 
sins.  UrSu  honum  ekki  aut5fengin  hjon,  en  ]>o  gerSi  hann  bu 
a  porhallsstgSum.  For  allt  a  sama  veg  sem  fyrr;  )?egar  at 
haustaSi,  toku  at  vaxa  reimleikar.  Var  J>a  mest  sott  at 
bondadottur;  ok  sva  for,  at  hon  lez  af  J^vi.  Margia  raSa  var 
i  leitat,  ok  var3  ekki  at  g^rt.  potti  mgnnum  til  J?ess  horfaz,  at 
eyt5az  mundi  allr  Vatnsdalr,  ef  eigi  yrSi  boetr  a  raSnar. 

Nil  er  J?ar  til  at  taka,  at  Grettir  Asmundarson  sat  heima 
at  Bjargi  um  haustit,  siSan  )7eir  VigabarSi  skildu  a  poreyjar- 
gniipi.  Ok  er  mjgk  var  komit  at  vetrnottum,  reiS  Grettir 
heiman  norSr  yfir  hdlsa  til  ViSidals,  ok  gisti  a  AuSunarstgSum. 
Ssettuz  J^eir  AuSunn  til  fulls,  ok  gaf  Grettir  honum  j^xi  goSa, 
ok  maeltu  til  vinattu  meS  ser.  AuSunn  bjo  lengi  a  AuSunar- 
stQSum  ok  var  kynsaell  maSr.  Hans  sonr  var  Egill,  er  atti 
tJlfheiSi,  dottur  Eyjolfs  GuSmundarsonar,  ok  var  J^eira  sonr 
Eyjolfr,  er  veginn  var  a  alj^ingi.  Hann  var  faSir  Orms,  kapilans 
porlaks  biskups.  Grettir  reiS  nortSr  til  Vatnsdals  ok  kom  a 
kynnisleit  i  Tungu.  par  bjo  )>a  JgkuU  BarSarson,  moSurbroSir 
Grettis;  JgkuU  var  mikill  maSr  ok  sterkr  ok  hinn  mesti  ofsa- 
matJr.  Hann  var  siglingamaSr,  ok  mjgk  odsell,  en  Jjo  mikil- 
hoefr  maSr.  Hann  tok  vel  viS  Gretti,  ok  var  hann  J?ar  J?rjar 
naetr.  pa  var  sva  mikit  orS  a  aptrggngum  Glams,  at  mgnnum 
var  ekki  jafntiSroett  sem  J^at.  Grettir  spurSi  innihga  at  }>eim 
atburSum,  er  hgfSu  orSit;  Jgkull  kvaS  J?ar  ekki  meira  af  sagt 
en  til  vaeri  hoeft;  "eSa  er  )7er  forvitni  a,  frsendi!  at  koma 
>ar?" 

Grettir  sagSi,  at  J?at  var  satt.    • 

Jgkull  baS  hann  J?at  eigi  gera,  "J7vi  ]?at  er  gaefuraun  mikil; 
en  fraendr  J?inir  eiga  mikit  i  hsettu,  }?ar  sem  J>u  ert,"  sagSi  hann; 
"J?ykkir  oss  mi  engi  slikr  af  ungum  mgnnum  sem  )>u;  en  illt 
mun  af  ilium  hljota,  )?ar  sem  Glamr  er.  Er  ok  miklu  betra, 
at  faz  vis  mennska  menu  en  viS  ovsettir  slikar." 

Grettir  kvaS  ser  hug  a,  at  koma  a  porhallsstaSi,  ok  sja,  hversu 
J>ar  vseri  um  gengit. 


Grettir  resolves  to  combat  Glam  163 

Jgkull  maelti:  "S6  ek  nu,  at  eigi  tjair  at  letja  J>ik;  en  satt 
er  J?at  sem  mselt  er,  at  sitt  er  hvart,  gaefa  eSa  gervigleikr." 

"pa  er  gSrum  va  fyrir  dyrum,  er  gSrum  er  inn  um  komit ; 
ok  hygg  at,  hversu  fer  mun  fara  sjalfum,  aSr  lykr,'*  kvaS 
Grettir. 

Jgkull  svarar :  "Vera  kann,  at  vit  sjaim  baSir  ngkkut  fram, 
en  hvarrgi  fai  viS  ggrt." 

Eptir  fat  skildu  )?eir,  ok  likaSi  hvarigum  annars  spdr. 

Grettir  reiS  a  porhallsstaSi,  ok  fagnaSi  bondi  honum  vel. 
Hann  spurtSi,  hvert  Grettir  aetlaSi  at  fara;  en  hann  segiz  far 
vilja  vera  um  nottina,  ef  bonda  likaSi,  at  sva  vaeri.  porhallr 
kvaz  fgkk  fyrir  kunna,  at  hann  vaeri  far,  "en  fam  fykkir 
sloegr  til  at  gista  her  um  tima;  muntu  hafa  heyrt  getit  um, 
hvat  her  er  at  vsela.  En  ek  vilda  gjama,  at  fii  hlytir  engi 
vandraeSi  af  mer.  En  foat  fu  komiz  heill  a  brott,  fa  veit  ek 
fyrir  vist,  at  fii  missir  bests  fins;  fvi  engi  heldr  her  heilum 
sinum  fararskjota,  sa  er  kemr." 

Grettir  kvaS  gott  til  hesta,  hvat  sem  af  fessum  yrSi. 

porhallr  var3  glaSr  viS,  er  Grettir  vildi  far  vera,  ok  tok 
vis  honum  baSum  hgndum.  Var  hestr  Grettis  laestr  i  hiisi 
sterkliga.  peir  foru  til  svefns,  ok  leiS  sva  af  nottin,  at  ekki 
kom  Glamr  heim. 

pa  mselti  porhallr:  "Vel  hefir  brugSit  viS  fina  kvamu, 
fviat  hverja  nott  er  Glamr  vanr  at  riSa  husum  eSa  brjota  upp 
hurSir,  sem  fii  matt  merki  sja." 

Grettir  maelti:  "pa  mun  vera  annathvart,  at  hann  mun 
ekki  lengi  a  ser  sitja,  etJa  mun  af  venjaz  meirr  en  eina  nott. 
Skal  ek  vera  her  nott  aSra  ok  sja,  hversu  ferr.'* 

SiSan  gengu  f eir  til  bests  Grettis,  ok  var  ekki  viS  hann 
glez.  Allt  fotti  bonda  at  einu  fara.  Nii  er  Grettir  far  aSra 
nott,  ok  kom  ekki  f raelHnn  heim.  pa  fotti  bonda  mjgk  vsenkaz. 
For  hann  fa  at  sja  best  Grettis.  pa  var  upp  brotit  hiisit,  er 
bondi  kom  til,  en  hestrinn  dreginn  til  dyra  litar,  ok  lamit  i 
sundr  i  honum  hvert  bein. 

porhallr  sagSi  Gretti,  hvar  fa  var  komit,  ok  baS  hann 
forSa  ser:  "fviat  viss  er  dauSinn,  ef  fii  biSr  Glams." 

Grettir  svarar:  "Eigi  ma  ek  minna  hafa  fyrir  best  minn, 
en  at  sj4  frseUnn." 


154  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

Bondi  sagSi,  at  J?at  var  eigi  bati,  at  sja  hann,  ")?viat  hann 
er  olikr  ngkkurri  mannligri  mynd;  en  goS  pjkki  mer  hver  sti 
stund,  er  pu  vilt  her  vera." 

Nil  liSr  dagrinn;  ok  er  menn  skyldu  fara  til  svefns,  vildi 
Grettir  eigi  fara  af  klseSum,  ok  lagSiz  niSr  i  setit  gegnt  lokrekkju 
bonda.  Hann  bafsi  rgggvarfeld  yfir  ser,  ok  knepti  annat 
skautit  niSr  undir  fcetr  ser,  en  annat  snaraSi  hann  undir  bgfuS 
ser,  ok  sa  lit  um  hgfuSsmattina.  Setstokkr  var  fyrir  framan 
setit,  mjgk  sterkr,  ok  spyrndi  hann  )?ar  i.  Dyraumbuningrinn 
allr  var  fra  brotinn  litidyrunum,  en  mi  var  J^ar  fyrir  bundinn 
hurSarflaki,  ok  ovendiliga  um  biiit.  pverj?iht  var  allt  brotit 
fra  skalanum,  ]7at  sem  J?ar  fyrir  framan  hafSi  verit,  bseSi  fyrir 
ofan  J7vertreit  ok  neSan.  Ssengr  allar  varu  or  staS  fcerSar. 
Heldr  var  J^ar  ovistuUgt.  Ljos  brann  i  skalanum  um  nottina. 
Ok  er  af  mundi  J^riSjungr  af  nott,  heyrSi  Grettir  lit  dynur 
miklar.  Var  ]>k  farit  upp  a  hiisin,  ok  risit  skalanum  ok  barit 
haelunum,  sva  at  brakaSi  i  hverju  tre.  pvi  gekk  lengi;  )?a 
var  farit  ofan  af  husunum  ok  til  dyra  gengit.  Ok  er  upp  var 
lokit  hurSunni,  sa  Grettir,  at  J^raellinn  retti  inn  hgfuSit,  ok 
syndiz  honum  afskrsemiliga  mikit  ok  undarHga  storskorit. 
Glamr  for  seint  ok  rettiz  upp,  er  hann  kom  inn  i  dyrnar ;  hann 
gnsef aSi  of arhga  viS  rsefrinu ;  snyr  at  skalanum  ok  lagSi  hand- 
leggina  upp  a  )7vertreit,  ok  gsegSiz  inn  yfir  skalann.  Ekki  let 
bondi  heyra  til  sin,  J^viat  honum  J?6tti  oerit  um,  er  hann  heyrSi, 
hvat  um  var  liti.  Grettir  la  kyrr  ok  hroerSi  sik  hvergi.  Glamr 
sa,  at  hriiga  ngkkur  la  i  setinu,  ok  rez  mi  innar  eptir  skalanum 
ok  J^reif  i  feldinn  stundarfast.  Grettir  spyrndi  i  stokkinn,  ok 
gekk  J?vi  hvergi.  Glamr  hnykti  i  annat  sinn  miklu  fastara, 
ok  bifaSiz  hvergi  feldrinn.  I  J^risja  sinn  pieii  hann  i  meS 
baSum  hgndum  sva  fast,  at  hann  retti  Gretti  upp  or  setinu; 
kiptu  mi  i  sundr  feldinum  i  milium  sin.  Glamr  leit  a  slitrit, 
er  hann  belt  a,  ok  undraSiz  mjgk,  hverr  sva  fast  mundi  togaz 
vis  hann.  Ok  i  J?vi  hljop  Grettir  undir  hendr  honum,  ok  J?reif 
um  hann  miSjan,  ok  spenti  a  honum  hrygginn  sem  fastast 
gat  hann,  ok  setlaSi  hann,  at  Glamr  skyldi  kikna  viS.  En 
J^rselhnn  lagSi  at  handleggjum  Grettis  sva  fast,  at  hann  hgrfaSi 
allr  fyrir  orku  sakir.  For  Grettir  J>a  undan  i  yms  setin.  Gengu 
J?a  fra  stokkarnir,  ok  allt  brotnaSi,  J?at  sem  fyrir  varS.     Vildi 


Grettir  overthrows  Glam  166 

G14mr  leita  lit,  en  Grettir  foerSi  viS  foetr,  hvar  sem  liann  matti. 

En  J76  gat  Glamr  dregit  hann  fram  or  skalanum.     Attn  J^eir 

}?a  allharSa  sokn,  )?viat  J^raellinn  setlaSi  at  koma  honum  tit  or 

boenum ;  en  sva  illt  sem  var  at  eiga  viS  Gldm  inni,  J?^  s4  Grettir, 

at  )?6  var  verra,  at  f 4z  viS  hann  liti ;  ok  )7vi  brauz  hann  i  moti 

af  gllu  afli  at  f ara  lit.     Glamr  f oerSiz  i  aukana,  ok  knepti  hann 

at  ser,  er  J^eir  komu  i  anddyrit.     Ok  er  Grettir  ser,  at  hann  fekk 

eigi  vis  spornat,  hefir  hann  allt  eitt  atriSit,  at  hann  hleypr  sem 

harSast  i  fang  J^rselnum  ok  spyrnir  baSum  fotum  i  jarSfastan 

stein,  er  stoS  i  dyrunum.     Vi6  J?essu  bjoz  J>raelhnn  eigi;    hann 

haf Si  J?a  togaz  viS  at  draga  Gretti  at  ser ;  ok  J?vi  kiknatsi  Glamr 

a  bak  aptr,  ok  rank  gfugr  tit  a  dyrnar,  sva  at  herSarnar  namu 

uppdyrit,  ok  raefrit  gekk  i  sundr,  bseSi  visirnir  ok  J?ekjan  frerin; 

fell  hann  sva  opinn  ok  gfugr  lit  or  hiisunnm,  en  Grettir  a  hann 

ofan.     Tunglskin  var  mikit  uti  ok  gluggaj?ykkn ;  hratt  stundum 

fyrir,  en  stundum  dro  fra.     Nii  i  ]?vi,  er  Glamr  fell,  rak  skyit 

fra  tungUnu,  en  Glamr  hvesti  augun  upp  i  moti.     Ok  sva  hefir 

Grettir  sagt  sjalfr,  at  }?a  eina  syn  hafi  hann  set  sva,  at  honum 

brygSi  viS.      pa  sigaSi  sva  at  honum  af  gllu  saman,  moeSi  ok 

)?vi,  er  hann  sa  at  Glamr  gaut  sinum  sjonum  harSliga,  at  hann 

gat  eigi  brugSit  saxinu,  ok  la  nahga  i  milli  heims  ok  heljar. 

En  fvi  var  meiri  ofagnaSarkraptr  meS  Glami  en  flestum  gSrum 

aptrggngumgnnum,  at  hann  maelti  J?a  a  J?essa  leiS:    "Mikit 

kapp  hefir  fii  a  lagit,  Grettir,"  sagSi  hann,  "at  finna  mik. 

En  J7at  mun  eigi  undarhgt  J?ykkja,  J^oat  J?u  hljotir  ekki  mikit 

happ  af  mer.     En  J?at  ma  ek  segja  )7er,  at  J^ii  hefir  nii  fengit 

helming  afls  J?ess  ok  J^roska,  er  )?er  var  setlaSr,  ef  )?u  hefSir 

mik  ekki  fundit.     Nii  fae  ek  J?at  afl  eigi  af  fer  tekit,  er  J7ii  hefir 

aSr  hrept ;   en  ]?vi  ma  ek  raSa,  at  J^u  verSr  aldri  sterkari  en  nti 

ertu,  ok  ertu  J>6  nogu  sterkr,  ok  at  ]7vi  mun  mgrgum  verSa. 

pii  hefir  fraegr  orSit  her  til  af  verkum  J>inum;    en  heSan  af 

munu  falla  til  J^in  sektir  ok  vigaferli,  en  flest  gll  verk  J?in  sniiaz 

J?er  til  ogsefu  ok  hamingjuleysis.     pii  munt  verSa  utlaegr  ggrr, 

ok  hljota  jafnan  liti  at  biia  einn  samt.     pa  legg  ek  fat  a  viS 

J?ik,  at  J?essi  augu  se  J^er  jafnan  fyrir  sjonum,  sem  ek  ber  eptir; 

ok  mun  fer  erfitt  J?ykkja,  einum  at  vera;  ok  ]?at  mun  )7er  til 

dautJa  draga." 

Ok  sem  )?raellinn  hafSi  J^etta  mselt,  )?a  rann  af  Gretti  omegin. 


156  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

j?at  sem  a  honum  hafsi  verit.  Bra  hann  pa  saxinu  ok  hjo 
h^fuS  af  Glami  ok  setti  J?at  viS  )>j6  honum.  Bondi  kom  pa  ut, 
ok  haM  klsez,  a  meSan  Glamr  let  ganga  tgluna;  en  hvergi 
J?orSi  hann  naer  at  koma,  fyrr  en  Glamr  var  falhnn.  porhallr 
lofaSi  guS  fyrir,  ok  J?akka3i  vel  Gretti,  er  hann  hafsi  unnit  J?enna 
ohreina  anda.  Foru  )7eir  pk  til,  ok  brendu  Glam  at  kgldum 
kolum.  Eptir  J>at  [baru  J^eir  gsku  bans  i  eina  hit  ok]  grofu  pax 
niSr,  sem  sizt  vara  fjarhagar  eSa  manna vegir.  Gengu  heim 
eptir  J?at,  ok  var  J?a  mjgk  komit  at  degi.  LagSiz  Grettir  niSr, 
pviat  hann  var  stirSr  mjgk.  porhallr  sendi  menn  a  naestu  boei 
eptir  mgnnum;  syndi  ok  sagSi,  hversu  farit  haM.  Qllum 
)>6tti  mikils  um  vert  um  }?etta  verk,  )?eim  er  heyrSu.  Var  J^at 
}7a  almaelt,  at  engi  vseri  J?vilikr  maSr  a  gllu  landinu  fyrir  afls 
sakir  ok  hreysti  ok  allrar  atgervi,  sem  Grettir  Asmundarson. 

porhallr  leysti  Gretti  vel  af  garSi  ok  gaf  honum  goSan  best 
ok  klseSi  soemihg,  )>vi[at]  J^au  varu  gll  sundr  leyst,  er  hann 
bafsi  aSr  borit.  Skildu  J?eir  meS  vinattu.  EeiS  Grettir  J?a5an 
i  As  i  Vatnsdal,  ok  tok  porvaldr  viS  honum  vel  ok  spurSi  inniliga 
at  sameign  )>eira  Glams ;  en  Grettir  segir  honum  viSskipti  J?eira, 
ok  kvaz  aldri  i  J^vilika  aflraun  komit  hafa,  sva  langa  viSreign 
sem  J?eir  hgfSu  saman  att. 

porvaldr  baS  hann  hafa  sik  spakan,  "  ok  mun  j?a  vel  duga, 
en  ella  mun  per  slysgjarnt  verSa." 

Grettir  kvaS  ekki  batnat  hafa  um  lyndisbragSit,  ok  sagSiz 
nil  miklu  verr  stiltr  en  aSr,  ok  allar  motgerSir  verri  J7ykkja. 
A  pyi  fann  hann  mikla  muni,  at  hann  var  orSinn  maSr  sva 
myrkfselinn,  at  hann  J>orSi  hvergi  at  fara  einn  saman,  J^egar 
myrkva  tok.  Syndiz  honum  J?a  hvers  kyns  skripi;  ok  ]?at  er 
haft  siSan  fyrir  orStoeki,  at  J>eim  Ijai  Glamr  augna  eSr  gefi 
glamsyni,  er  mjgk  syniz  annan  veg,  en  er.  Grettir  reiS  heim 
til  Bjargs,  er  hann  hafsi  ggrt  ^rendi  sin,  ok  sat  heima  um 
vetrinn. 

(b)    Sandhaugar  episode  (caps.  64-66) 

Steinn  bet  prestr,  er  bjo  at  Eyjardalsd  i  BarSardal.  Hann 
var  buj?egn  goSr  ok  rikr  at  fe.  Kjartan  bet  son  bans,  rgskr 
maSr  ok  vel  a  legg  kominn.     porsteinn  hviti  bet  maSr,  er 


Grettir  (Gestr)  comes  to  Sandhaugar  167 

bjo  at  Sandhaugum,  suSr  fra  Eyjardalsa.  Steinvgr  het  kona 
bans,  ung  ok  glaSlat.  pau  attu  bgrn,  ok  varu  J?au  ung  i  J^enna 
tima.  par  J^otti  mgnnum  reimt  mjgk  sakir  trgllagangs.  pat 
bar  til,  tveim  vetrum  fyrr  en  Grettir  kom  norSr  i  sveitir,  at 
Steinvgr  husfreyja  at  Sandbaugum  for  til  jolatiSa  til  Eyjar- 
dalsar  eptir  vana,  en  bondi  var  beima.  LggSuz  menn  niSr  til 
svefns  um  kveldit;  ok  um  nottina  beyrSu  menn  brak  mikit 
i  skalann,  ok  til  saengr  bonda.  Engi  J?orSi  upp  at  standa  at 
forvitnaz  um,  J?viat  J?ar  var  fament  mjgk.  Husfreyja  kom 
beim  um  morguninn,  ok  var  bondi  borfinn,  ok  vissi  engi,  bvat 
af  bonum  var  orSit.  LiSu  sva  bin  nsestu  misseri.  En  annan 
vetr  eptir,  vildi  biisfreyja  fara  til  tiSa;  baS  bon  biiskarl  sinn 
beima  vera.  Hann  var  tregr  til;  en  ba3  bana  raSa.  For  J?ar 
allt  a  sgmu  leis,  sem  fyrr,  at  buskarl  var  borfinn.  petta  ]?6tti 
mgnnum  undarbgt.  Sau  menn  ]?a  bloSdrefjar  ngkkurar  i  liti- 
dyrum.  pottuz  menn  J^at  vita,  at  ovaettir  mundu  bafa  tekit  J?a 
baSa.  petta  frettiz  viSa  um  sveitir.  Grettir  bafsi  spurn  af 
J?essu.  Ok  meS  J?vi  at  bonum  var  mjgk  lagit  at  koma  af  reim- 
leikum  eSa  aptrggngum,  J?a  gerSi  bann  ferS  sina  til  BarSardals, 
ok  kom  atfangadag  jola  til  Sandba[u]ga.  Hann  duldiz  ok 
nefndiz  Gestr.  Husfreyja  sa,  at  bann  var  furSu  mikill  vexti, 
en  beimafolk  var  furSu  brsett  viS  bann.  Hann  beiddiz  J?ar 
gistingar.  Husfreyja  kvaS  bonum  mat  til  reiSu,  "en  abyrgz 
)7ik  sjalfr." 

Hann  kvaS  sva  vera  skyldu.  "Mun  ek  vera  beima,"  segir 
bann,  "en  J?u  far  til  tiSa,  ef  }>u  vilt." 

Hon  svarar:  "Mer  J^ykkir  J?u  braustr,  ef  ]?u  J>orir  beima  at 
vera." 

"Eigi  Iset  ek  mer  at  einu  getit,"  sagSi  bann. 

"Hit  J?ykkir  mer  beima  at  vera,"  segir  bon,  "en  ekki 
komumz  ek  yfir  ana." 

"Ek  skal  fylgja  J^er  yfir,"  segir  Gestr. 

SiSan  bjoz  bon  til  titJa,  ok  dottir  bennar  meS  benni,  litil 
vexti.  Hlaka  mikil  var  uti,  ok  km  i  leysingum;  var  a  benni 
jakafgr. 

\)k  mselti  biisfreyja:  "Ofoert  er  yfir  ana,  baeSi  mgnnum  ok 
bestum." 

"Vg5  munu  a  vera,"  kvaS  Gestr;   "ok  veriS  eigi  brseddar." 


158  Extra/its  from  Grettis  Saga 

"Ber  Jjii  fyrst  meyna,"  kvaS  hiisfreyja,  "hon  er  lettari." 

"Ekki  nenni  ek  at  gera  tvaer  ferSir  at  J?essu,"  segir  Gestr, 
**  ok  mun  ek  bera  J?ik  a  handlegg  mer." 

Hon  signdi  sik  ok  maelti:  "petta  er  ofcera;  eSa  hvat  gerir 
J?u  J?a  af  meyjunni?" 

"Sja  mun  ek  ra3  til  J^ess,"  segir  hann;  ok  greip  j^ser  upp 
baSar  ok  setti  bina  yngri  i  kne  moSur  sinnar,  ok  bar  J^ser  sva 
a  vinstra  armlegg  ser;  en  bafsi  lausa  bina  boegri  bgnd  ok  6S 
sva  lit  a  vaSit.  Eigi  forSu  J?8er  at  oepa,  sva  varu  )78er  braeddar. 
En  ain  skall  j^egar  upp  a  brjosti  bonum.  pa  rak  at  bonum 
jaka  mikinn;  en  bann  skaut  viS  bendi  J?eiri,  er  laus  var,  ok  bratt 
fra  ser.  GerSi  j?a  sva  djupt,  at  strauminn  braut  a  gxbnni. 
63  bann  sterkUga,  j?ar  til  er  bann  kom  at  bakkanum  gSrum 
megin,  ok  fleygir  J?eim  a  land.  SiSan  sneri  bann  aptr,  ok  var 
]>k  balfr^kvit,  er  bann  kom  beim  til  Sandbauga;  ok  kallaSi 
til  matar.  Ok  er  bann  var  mettr,  baS  bann  beimafolk  fara 
innar  i  stofu.  Hann  tok  J^a  borS  ok  lausa  viSu,  ok  rak  um 
]7vera  stofuna,  ok  gerSi  balk  mikinn,  sva  at  engi  beimamaSr 
komz  fram  yfir.  Engi  j^orSi  i  moti  bonum  at  msela,  ok  i  engum 
skyldi  kretta.  Gengit  var  i  bbSvegginn  stofunnar  inn  viS 
gaflblaSit;  ok  J^ar  J7verpallr  bja.  par  lagSiz  Gestr  niSr  ok  for 
ekki  af  klseSunum.  Ljos  brann  i  stofunni  gegnt  dyrum.  Liggr 
Gestr  sva  fram  a  nottina. 

Hiisfreyja  kom  til  Eyjardalsar  til  tiSa,  ok  undruSu  menn  um 
ferSir  bennar  yfir  ana.  Hon  sagSiz  eigi  vita,  bvart  bana  befSi 
yfir  flutt  maSr  et5a  trgll.  Prestr  kvaS  mann  vist  vera  mundu, 
)>6at  farra  maki  se;  *'ok  latum  bljott  yfir,"  sagSi  bann;  "ma 
vera,  at  bann  se  aetlaSr  til  at  vinna  bot  a  vandraeSum  J^inum." 
Var  biisfreyja  far  um  nottina. 

Nii  er  fra  Gretti  J^at  at  segja,  at  ]>k  er  dro  at  miSri  nott, 
beyrSi  bann  lit  dynur  miklar.  pvinsest  kom  inn  i  stofuna 
trgllkona  mikil.  Hon  bafSi  i  bendi  trog,  en  annarri  skalm, 
beldr  mikla.  Hon  btaz  um,  er  bon  kom  inn,  ok  sa,  bvar  Gestr 
la,  ok  bljop  at  bonum,  en  bann  upp  i  moti,  ok  reSuz  a  grimmliga 
ok  sottuz  lengi  i  stofunni.  Hon  var  sterkari,  en  bann  for 
undan  koenbga.  En  allt  J?at,  sem  fyrir  J^eim  varS,  brutu  )>au, 
jafnvel  J?ver)7ilit  undan  stofunni.  Hon  dro  bann  fram  yfir 
dyrnar,  ok  sva  i  anddyrit;    J?ar  tok  bann  fast  1  moti.     Hon 


Grettir  (Gestr)  struggles  with  the  Troll-wife         159 

vildi  draga  hann  lit  or  boenum,  en  )?at  varS  eigi  fyrr  en  J^au 
leystu  fra  allan  litidyraumbuninginn  ok  baru  hann  ut  a  herSum 
ser.  poefSi  hon  J?a  of  an  til  arinnar  ok  allt  fram  at  gljiifrum. 
pa  var  Gestr  akafliga  moSr,  en  J?6  varS  annathvdrt  at  gera: 
at  herSa  sik,  ella  mundi  hon  steypa  honum  i  gljiifrin.  Alia 
nottina  sottuz  }?au.  Eigi  fottiz  hann  hafa  fengiz  viS  J^vilikan 
ofagnaS  fyrir  afls  sakir.  Hon  haM  haldit  honum  sva  fast  at 
ser,  at  hann  matti  hvarigri  hendi  taka  til  ngkkurs,  utan  hann 
helt  um  hana  misja  k[ett]una.  Ok  er  J?au  komu  a  argljiifrit, 
bregSr  hann  flagSkonunni  til  sveiflu.  I  )>vi  varS  honum  laus  hin 
hoegri  hgndin.  Hann  J^reif  J?a  skjott  til  saxins,  er  hann  var 
gyrSr  meS,  ok  bregSr  J?vi;  h^ggr  J^a  a  gxl  trglhnu,  sva  at  af 
tok  hgndina  hoegri,  ok  sva  var 5  hann  lauss.  En  hon  steyptiz 
i  gljufrin  ok  sva  i  fossinn.  Gestr  var  )?a  baeSi  stirSr  ok  moSr, 
ok  la  J?ar  lengi  a  hamrinum.  Gekk  hann  J^a  heim,  er  lysa  tok, 
ok  lagSiz  i  rekkju.     Hann  var  allr  J^riitinn  ok  blar. 

Ok  er  hiisfreyja  kom  fra  tiSum,  j^otti  henni  heldr  raskat 
um  hybyli  sin.  Gekk  hon  ]>k  til  Gests  ok  spurSi,  hvat  til  hefsi 
borit,  er  allt  var  brotit  ok  boelt.  Hann  sagSi  allt,  sem  farit 
hafsi.  Henni  J^otti  mikils  um  vert,  ok  spurSi,  hverr  hann  var. 
Hann  sagSi  J^a  til  hit  sanna,  ok  batJ  seek j  a  prest  ok  kvaz  vildu 
finna  hann.  Var  ok  sva  ggrt.  En  er  Steinn  prestr  kom  til 
Sandhauga,  varS  hann  bratt  J^ess  viss,  at  J^ar  var  kominn 
Grettir  Asmundarson,  er  Gestr  nefndiz.  Prestr  spurSi,  hvat 
hann  setlaSi  af  {^eim  mgnnum  mundi  vera  orSit,  er  J^ar  hgfSu 
horfit.  Grettir  kvaz  aetla,  at  i  gljufrin  mundu  J?eir  hafa  horfit. 
Prestr  kvaz  eigi  kunna  at  leggja  triinaS  a  sagnir  hans,  ef  engi 
merki  maetti  til  sja.  Grettir  segir,  at  siSar  vissi  J?eir  J?at  gf^rr. 
For  prestr  heim.  Grettir  la  i  rekkju  margar  nsetr.  Hiisfreyja 
gerSi  vis  hann  harsla  vel;  ok  leis  sva  af  John,  petta  er  sggn 
Grettis,  at  trgllkonan  steypSiz  i  gljufrin  viS,  er  hon  fekk  sarit ; 
en  BarSardalsmenn  segja,  at  hana  dagaSi  uppi,  ]fk  er  J?au 
glimdu,  ok  spryngi,  J?a  er  hann  hjo  af  henni  hgndina,  ok  standi 
far  enn  i  konu  liking  a  bjarginu.  peir  dalbiiarnir  leyndu  J?ar 
Gretti. 

Um  vetrinn  eptir  jol  var  }>at  einn  dag,  at  Grettir  for  til 
Eyjardalsar.  Ok  er  J?eir  Grettir  funduz  ok  prestr,  maelti 
Grettir:    "Se  ek  fat,  prestr,"  segir  hann,  "at  fu  leggr  litinn 


160  Extracts  from  Grettis  Sczga 

trunaS  a  sagnir  minar.  Nii  vil  ek  at  fii  farir  meS  mer  til 
4rinnar,  ok  sjair,  hver  likendi  pei  )?ykkir  a  vera." 

Prestr  gerSi  sva.  En  er  J^eir  komu  til  fossins,  sau  J?eir  skiita 
upp  undir  bergit;  ]?at  var  meitilberg  sva  mikit,  at  hveigi 
matti  upp  komaz,  ok  nser  tiu  faSma  ofan  at  vatninu.  peir 
hgfSu  festi  meS  ser. 

p4  maelti  prestr:  "Langt  um  of  cert  syniz  mer  pei  niSr  at 
fara." 

Grettir  svarar :  "  Foert  er  vist ;  en  J?eim  mun  bezt  J?ar,  sem 
agsetismenn  em.  Mun  ek  forvitnaz,  hvat  i  fossinum  er,  en  J?u 
skalt  geyma  festar." 

Prestr  baS  hann  raSa,  ok  keyrSi  niSr  hael  a  berginu,  ok  bar 
at  grjot,  [ok  sat  J>ar  hja], 

Nti  er  fra  Gretti  at  segja,  at  hann  let  stein  i  festaraugat 
ok  let  sva  siga  ofan  at  vatninu. 

"Hvern  veg  aetlar  J?u  nti,"  segir  prestr,  "at  fara?" 

"Ekki  vil  ek  vera  bundinn,"  segir  Grettir,  "j?a  er  ek  kem 
i  fossinn;    sva  boSar  mer  hugr  um." 

Eptir  J?at  bj6  hann  sik  til  ferSar,  ok  var  faklaeddr,  ok  gyrtJi 
sik  meS  saxinu,  en  hafsi  ekki  fleiri  vapn.  SiSan  hljop  hann  af 
bjarginu  ok  niSr  i  fossinn.  Sa  prestr  i  iljar  honum,  ok  vissi 
siSan  aldri,  hvat  af  honum  varS.  Grettir  kafaSi  undir  fossinn, 
ok  var  J7at  torvelt,  J>viat  iSa  var  mikil,  ok  varS  hann  allt  til 
grunns  at  kafa,  aSr  en  hann  koemiz  upp  undir  fossinn.  par  var 
f  orberg  ngkkut,  ok  komz  hann  inn  )?ar  upp  a.  par  var  heUir  mikill 
undir  fossinum,  ok  felKain  fram  af  berginu.  Gekk  hann  pa, 
inn  i  helHnn,  ok  var  )?ar  eldr  mikill  a  brgndum.  Grettir  sa, 
at  J?ar  sat  jgtunn  ggurhga  mikill;  hann  var  hrseSihgr  at  sja. 
En  er  Grettir  kom  at  honum,  hljop  jgtunninn  upp  ok  greip 
flein  einn  ok  hj6  til  )?ess,  er  kominn  var,  Jrviat  bseSi  matti  hgggva 
ok  leggja  me?S  [honum].  Treskapt  var  i ;  J^at  kglluSu  menn  pa, 
heptisax,  er  J>annveg  var  ggrt.  Grettir  hjo  a  moti  meS  saxinu, 
ok  kom  a  skaptit,  sva  at  i  sundr  tok.  Jgtunninn  vildi  pa, 
seilaz  a  bak  ser  aptr  til  sverSs,  er  J^ar  hekk  i  helHnum.  I  pvi 
hjo  Grettir  framan  a  brjostit,  sva  at  nahga  tok  af  alia  bring- 
spelina  ok  kvisinn,  sva  at  iSrin  steyptuz  or  honum  ofan  i  ana, 
ok  keyrSi  )?au  ofan  eptir  anni.  Ok  er  prestr  sat  viS  festina, 
sa  hann,  at  slySrur  ngkkurar  rak  ofan  eptir  strengnum  bloSugar 


Grettir  slays  the  Troll  161 

allar.  Hann  varS  J?a  lauss  a  velli,  ok  J^ottiz  nti  vita,  at  Grettir 
mundi  dauSr  vera.  Hljop  hann  J?a  fra  festarhaldinu  ok  for 
heim.  Var  J>a  komit  at  kveldi,  ok  sagSi  prestr  visliga,  at 
Grettir  vaeri  dauSr;  ok  sagSi,  at  mikill  skaSivseri  eptir  J?vilikan 
mann. 

Nu  er  fra  Gretti  at  segja;  hann  let  skamt  hgggva  i  milli, 
J?ar  til  er  jgtunninn  do.  Gekk  Grettir  J?a  innar  eptir  hellinum. 
Hann  kveikti  Ijos  ok  kannaSi  helHnn.  Ekki  er  fra  J?vi  sagt, 
hversu  mikit  fe  hann  fekk  i  heUinum;  en  )7at  setla  menn,  at 
verit  hafi  ngkkut.  Dvaldiz  honum  J?ar  fram  a  nottina.  Hann 
fanA  )?ar  tveggja  manna  bein,  ok  bar  ]?au  i  belg  einn.  LeitaSi 
hann  ]?a  or  hellinum  ok  lagSiz  til  festarinnar,  ok  hristi  hana,  ok 
setlaSi,  at  prestr  mundi  )?ar  vera.  En  er  hann  vissi,  at  prestr 
var  heim  farinn,  varS  hann  ^k  at  handstyrkja  upp  festina,  ok 
komz  hann  sva  upp  a  bjargit.  For  hann  ]?a  heim  til  Eyjardalsar 
ok  kom  i  forkirkju  belginum  J?eim,  sem  beinin  varu  i,  ok  J?ar 
meS  runakefli  J?vi,   er    visur  )?essar   varu   forkunnhga   vel   4 

ristnar : 

/ 

"Gekk  ek  i  gljufr  et  dgkkva 
gein  veltiflug  steina, 
vi}?  hjgrgaej^i  hrij?ar 
hlunns  ursvglum  munni, 
fast  la  framm  a  brjosti 
flugstraumr  i  sal  naumu 
heldr  kom  a  her)>ar  skaldi 
hgrj?  fjon  Braga  kvonar." 

Ok  en  )?essi: 

"Ljotr  kom  m6r  i  moti 
mellu  vinr  or  belli; 
hann  fekz,  heldr  at  sgnnu 
har]?fengr,  vij?  mik  lengi; 
harj^eggjat  let  ek  hgggvit 
heptisax  af  skepti; 
Gangs  klauf  brjost  ok  bringu 
bjartr  gunnlogi  svarta^." 

1  See  Fianur  Jonsaon,  Den  Norsk-Islandske  Skjaldediginingy  B.  ii.  473-4. 
C.  B.  11 


162  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

par  sagSi  sva,  at  Grettir  hafi  bein  J^essi  or  hellinum  haft. 
En  er  prestr  kom  til  kirkju  um  morgininn,  fann  hann  keflit  ok 
}>at  sem  fylgdi,  ok  las  ninarnar.  En  Grettir  haM  farit  heim  til 
Sandhauga. 

En  J>a  er  prestr  fann  Gretti,  spurSi  hann  inniliga  eptir 
atburSum ;  en  hann  sagSi  alia  sggu  um  f erS  sina,  ok  kvaS  prest 
otruHga  hafa  haldit  festinni.  Prestr  let  J?at  a  sannaz.  pottuz 
menn  J?at  vita,  at  J?essar  ovaettir  mundu  valdit  hafa  manna- 
hvgrfum  J^ar  i  dalnum.  VarS  ok  aldri  m«in  af  aptrggngum 
eSa  reimleikum  J?ar  i  dalnum  siSan.  potti  Grettir  ]?ar  ggrt 
hafa  mikla  landhreinsan.  Prestr  jarSaSi  bein  )?essi  i  kirkju- 
garSi. 

Translation  of  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

The  Grettis  saga  was  first  printed  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
in  Iceland  (Marcusson,  Nockrer  Marg-frooder  Sogu-patter,  1766,  pp.  81-163). 
It  was  edited  by  Magnusson  and  Thordarson,  Copenhagen,  1853,  with  a 
Danish  translation,  and  again  by  Boer  {AUnordische  Saga-bibliothek,  Halle, 
1900).  An  edition  was  also  printed  at  Reykjavik  in  1900,  edited  by 
V.  Asmundarson. 

There  are  over  forty  mss  of  the  saga:  Cod.  Am.  Mag.  551  a  (quoted 
in  the  notes  below  as  A)  forms  the  basis  of  all  three  modern  editions.  Boer 
has  investigated  the  relationship  of  the  mss  {Die  handschriftliche  iiber- 
lieferung  der  Grettissaga,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxxi,  40-60),  and  has  published,  in  an 
appendix  to  his  edition,  the  readings  of  five  of  the  more  important,  in  so 
far  as  he  considers  that  they  can  be  utilized  to  amend  the  text  supplied 
by  A. 

The  reader  who  consults  the  editions  of  both  Magntisson  and  Boer  will 
be  struck  by  the  differences  in  the  text,  although  both  are  following  the 
same  ms.  Many  of  these  differences  are,  of  course,  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  editors  are  normalizing  the  spelling,  but  on  different  principles:  many 
others,  however,  are  due  to  the  extraordinary  difficulty  of  the  MS  itself, 
Mr  Sigfus  Blondal,  of  the  Royal  Library  of  Copenhagen,  has  examined 
Cod.  Am.  Ma^.  551  a  for  me,  and  he  writes: 

"It  is  the  very  worst  MS  I  have  ever  met  with.  The  writing  is 
small,  almost  every  word  is  abbreviated,  and,  worst  of  aU,  the  writing 
is  in  many  places  effaced,  partly  by  smoke  (I  suppose  the  ms  needs 
must  have  been  lying  for  years  in  some  smoky  and  damp  batSstofa) 
rendering  the  parchment  almost  as  bjack  as  shoe-leather,  but  still 
more  owing  to  the  use  of  chemicals,  which  modern  editors  have  been 
obUged  to  use,  to  make  sure  of  what  there  really  was  in  the  text.  By 
the  use  of  much  patience  and  a  lens,  one  can  read  it,  though,  in  most 
places.  Unfortunately,  this  does  not  apply  to  the  Gldmur  episode,  a 
big  portion  of  which  belongs  to  the  very  worst  part  of  the  ms,  and  the 
readings  of  that  portion  are  therefore  rather  uncertain." 
The  Icelandic  text  given  above  agrees  in  the  main  with  that  in  the 
excellent  edition  of  Boer,  to  whom,  in  common  with  all  students  of  the 


Glam  as  a  servant  163 

GreUis  saga,  I  am  much  indebted:  but  I  have  frequently  adopted  in  pre- 
ference a  spelling  or  wording  nearer  to  that  of  Magnusson.  In  several  of 
these  instances  (notably  the  spelhng  of  the  verses  attributed  to  Grettir) 
I  think  Prof.  Boer  would  probably  himself  agree. 

The  words  or  letters  placed  between  square  brackets  are  those  which 
are  not  to  be  found  in  Cod.  Am.  Mag.  551  a. 

To  Mr  Blondal,  who  has  been  at  the  labour  of  collating  with  the  MS, 
for  my  benefit,  both  the  passages  given  above,  my  grateful  thanks  are  due. 

There  are  EngUsh  translations  of  the  Orettis  saga  by  Morris  and  E. 
Magnusson  (1869,  and  in  Morris'  Works,  1911,  vol.  vn)  and  by  G.  A.  Hight 
{EverymarCs  Library,  1914). 

For  a  discussion  of  the  relationship  of  the  Grettis  saga  to  other  stories, 
see  also  Boer,  Zur  Grettissaga,  in  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxx,  1-71. 


(a)    Glam  e'pisode  (p.  146  above) 

•■^ 

There  was  a  man  called  Thorhall,  who  lived  at  Thorhall's 
Farm  in  Shadow-dale.  Shadow-dale  runs  up  from  Water-dale. 
Thorhall  was  son  of  Grim,  son  of  Thorhall,  son  of  Frithmund, 
who  settled  Shadow-dale.  Thorhall's  wife  was  called  Guthrun: 
their  son  was  Grim,  and  Thurith  their  daughter — they  were 
grown  up. 

Thorhall  was  a  wealthy  man,  and  especially  in  cattle,  so  p.  i 
that  no  man  had  as  much  live  stock  as  he.  He  was  not  a 
chief,  yet  a  substantial  yeoman.  The  place  was  much  haunted, 
and  he  found  it  hard  to  get  a  shepherd  to  suit  him.  He  sought 
counsel  of  many  wise  men,  what  device  he  should  follow,  but 
he  got  no  counsel  which  was  of  use  to  him.  Thorhall  rode  each 
summer  to  the  All-Thing ;  he  had  good  horses.  That  was  one 
summer  at  the  All-Thing,  that  Thorhall  went  to  the  booth  of 
Skapti  Thoroddsson,  the  Law-man. 

Skapti  was  the  wisest  of  men,  and  gave  good  advice  if  he 
was  asked.  There  was  this  difference  between  Skapti  and  his 
father  Thorodd:  Thorodd  had  second  sight,  and  some  men 
called  him  underhanded;  but  Skapti  gave  to  every  man  that 
advice  which  he  believed  would  avail,  if  it  were  kept  to:  so  he 
was  called  '  Better  than  his  father.'  Thorhall  went  to  the  booth 
of  Skapti.  Skapti  greeted  Thorhall  well,  for  he  knew  that  he 
was  a  prosperous  man,  and  asked  what  news  he  had. 

Thorhall  said,  "I  should  like  good  counsel  from  thee." 
"I  am  little  use  at  that,"  said  Skapti.  "But  what  is  thy 
need?" 

11—2 


164  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

Thorhall  said,  "It  happens  so,  that  it  is  difficult  for  me  to 
keep  my  shepherds:  they  easily  get  hurt,  and  some  will  not 
serve  their  time.  And  now  no  one  will  take  on  the  task,  who 
knows  what  is  before  him." 

Skapti  answered,  "There  must  be  some  evil  being  about, 
if  men  are  more  unwilling  to  look  after  thy  sheep  than  those 
of  other  folk.  Now  because  thou  hast  sought  counsel  of  me, 
I  will  find  thee  a  shepherd,  who  is  named  Glam,  a  Swede,  from 
Sylgsdale,  who  came  out  to  Iceland  last  summer.  He  is  great 
and  strong,  but  not  much  to  everybody's  taste." 

Thorhall  said  that  he  would  not  mind  that,  if  he  guarded 
the  sheep  well.  Skapti  said  that  if  Glam  had  not  the  strength 
and  courage  to  do  that,  there  was  no  hope  of  anyone  else.  Then 
Thorhall  went  out;  this  was  when  the  All- Thing  was  nearly 
ending. 

Thorhall  missed  two  light  bay  horses,  and  he  went  himself 
to  look  for  them — so  it  seems  that  he  was  not  a  great  man.  He 
went  up  under  Sledge-hill  and  south  along  the  mountain  called 
Armannsfell. 

Then  he  saw  where  a  man  came  down  from  Gothashaw, 
bearing  faggots  on  a  horse.  They  soon  met,  and  Thorhall 
asked  him  his  name,  and  he  said  he  was  called  Glam.  Glam 
148  was  tall  and  strange  in  bearing,  with  blue^  and  glaring  eyes,  and 
wolf-grey  hair.  Thorhall  opened  his  eyes  when  he  saw  him, 
but  yet  he  discerned  that  this  was  he  to  whom  he  had  been  sent, 

"What  work  art  thou  best  fitted  for?"  said  Thorhall. 

Glam  said  he  was  well  fitted  to  watch  sheep  in  the  winter. 

"  Wilt  thou  watch  my  sheep  ? "  said  Thorhall.  "  Skapti  gave 
thee  into  my  hand." 

"You  will  have  least  trouble  with  me  in  your  house  if  I  go 
my  own  way,  for  I  am  hard  of  temper  if  I  am  not  pleased," 
said  Glam. 

"That  will  not  matter  to  me,"  said  Thorhall,  "and  I  wish 
that  thou  shouldst  go  to  my  house." 

"That  may  I  well  do,"  said  Glam,  "but  are  there  any 
difficulties?" 

1  MS  A,  followed  by  Magniisson,  makes  Glam  bldeyg&r,  "blue-eyed":  Boer 
reads  grdeygdr,  considering  grey  a  more  uncanny  colour. 


Glam  is  slain  166 

"It  is  thought  to  be  haunted,"  said  Thorhall. 
"I  am  not  afraid  of  such  phantoms/'  said  Glam,  "and  it 
seems  to  me  all  the  less  dull." 

"Thou  wilt  need  such  a  spirit,"  said  Thorhall,  "and  it  is 
better  that  the  man  there  should  not  be  a  coward." 

After  that  they  struck  their  bargain,  and  Glam  was  to  come 
at  the  winter-nights  [14th-16th  of  October].  Then  they  parted, 
and  Thorhall  found  his  horses  where  he  had  just  been  search- 
ing. Thorhall  rode  home  and  thanked  Skapti  for  his  good 
deed. 

Summer  passed,  and  Thorhall  heard  nothing  of  his  shepherd, 
and  no  one  knew  anything  of  him ;  but  at  the  time  appointed 
he  came  to  Thorhall's  Farm.  The  yeoman  greeted  him  well, 
but  all  the  others  could  not  abide  him,  and  Thorhall's  wife 
least  of  all.  Glam  undertook  the  watching  of  the  sheep,  and 
it  gave  him  Uttle  trouble.  He  had  a  great  deep  voice,  and  the 
sheep  came  together  as  soon  as  he  called  them.  There  was  a 
church  at  Thorhall's  Farm,  but  Glam  would  not  go  to  it.  He 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  service,  and  was  godless; 
he  was  obstinate  and  surly  and  abhorred  by  all. 

Now  time  went  on  till  it  came  to  Yule  eve.  Then  Glam 
rose  early  and  called  for  meat.  The  yeoman's  wife  answered, 
"That  is  not  the  custom  of  Christian  men  to  eat  meat  today, 
because  tomorrow  is  the  first  day  of  Yule,"  said  she,  "and 
therefore  it  is  right  that  we  should  first  fast  today." 

He  answered,  "  Ye  have  many  superstitions  which  I  see  are 
good  for  nothing.     I  do  not  know  that  men  fare  better  now 
than  before,  when  they  had  nought  to  do  with  such  things.    It  p.  i 
seemed  to  me  a  better  way  when  men  were  called  heathen; 
and  I  want  my  meat  and  no  tricks." 

The  yeoman's  wife  said,  "I  know  for  a  certainty  that  it  will 
fare  ill  with  thee  today,  if  thou  dost  this  evil  thing." 

Glam  bade  her  bring  the  meat  at  once,  else  he  said  it  should 
be  worse  for  her.  She  dared  not  do  otherwise  than  he  willed, 
and  when  he  had  eaten  he  went  out,  foul-mouthed. 

Now  it  had  gone  so  with  the  weather  that  it  was  heavy 
all  round,  and  snow-flakes  were  falling,  and  it  was  blowing  loud, 
and   grew  much  worse  as  the  day  went  on.     The  shepherd 


166  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

was  heard  early  in  the  day,  but  less  later.  Then  wind  began 
to  drive  the  snow,  and  towards  evening  it  became  a  tempest. 
Then  men  came  to  the  service,  and  so  it  went  on  to  nightfall. 
Glam  did  not  come  home.  Then  there  was  talk  whether  search 
ought  not  to  be  made  for  him,  but  because  there  was  a  tempest 
and  it  was  pitch  dark,  no  search  was  attempted.  That  Yule 
night  he  did  not  come  home,  and  so  men  waited  till  after  the 
service  [next,  i.e.  Christmas,  morning].  But  when  it  was  full 
day,  men  went  to  search,  and  found  the  sheep  scattered  in  the 
snow-drifts^,  battered  by  the  tempest,  or  strayed  up  into  the 
mountains.  Then  they  came  on  a  great  space  beaten  down, 
high  up  in  the  valley.  It  looked  to  them  as  if  there  had  been 
somewhat  violent  wrestling  there,  because  the  stones  had  been 
torn  up  for  a  distance  around,  and  the  earth  likewise.  They 
looked  closely  and  saw  where  Glam  lay  a  little  distance  away. 
He  was  dead,  and  blue  like  Hel  and  swollen  Hke  an  ox.  They 
had  great  loathing  of  him,  and  their  souls  shuddered  at  him. 
Nevertheless  they  strove  to  bring  him  to  the  church,  but  they 
could  get  him  no  further  than  the  edge  of  a  ravine  a  Httle  below, 
and  they  went  home  leaving  matters  so,  and  told  the  yeoman 
what  had  happened.  He  asked  what  appeared  to  have  been 
the  death  of  Glam.  They  said  that,  from  the  trodden  spot,  up 
to  a  place  beneath  the  rocks  high  in  the  valley,  they  had  tracked 
marks  as  big  as  if  a  cask-bottom  had  been  stamped  down,  and 
great  drops  of  blood  with  them.  So  men  concluded  from  this, 
that  the  evil  thing  which  had  been  there  before  must  have  killed 
Glam,  but  Glam  must  have  done  it  damage  which  had  been 
enough,  in  that  nought  has  ever  happened  since  from  that  evil 
thing. 

The  second  day  of  Yule  it  was  again  essayed  to  bring  Glam 
to  the  church. 

Beasts  of  draught  were  harnessed,  but  they  could  not  move 
him  where  it  was  level  ground  and  not  down  hill,  so  they  de- 
parted, leaving  matters  so. 

The  third  day  the  priest  went  with  them,  and  they  searched 
p.  150  all  day,  but  Glam  could  not  be  found.    The  priest  would  go  no 

1  MS  A  has  fon^  or  /en*",  it  is  difficult  to  tell  which.    Magntisson  reads 
fenum,  "morasses." 


Glam  ^^ walks"  after  death  167 

more,  but  Glam  was  found  when  the  priest  was  not  in  the 
company.  Then  they  gave  up  trying  to  carry  him  to  the 
church,  and  buried  him  where  he  was,  under  a  cairn. 

A  Httle  later  men  became  aware  that  Glam  was  not  lying 
quiet.  Great  harm  came  to  men  from  this,  so  that  many  fell 
into  a  swoon  when  they  saw  him,  and  some  could  not  keep  their 
wits.  Just  after  Yule,  men  thought  they  saw  him  at  home  at 
the  farm.  They  were  exceedingly  afraid,  and  many  fled  away. 
Thereupon  Glam  took  to  riding  the  house-roofs  at  nights,  so 
that  he  nearly  broke  them  in.  He  walked  almost  night  and 
day.  Men  hardly  dared  to  go  up  into  the  dale,  even  though 
they  had  business  enough.  Men  in  that  coimtry-side  thought 
great  harm  of  this. 

In  the  spring  Thorhall  got  farm-hands  together  and  set  up 
house  on  his  land.  Then  the  apparition  began  to  grow  less 
frequent  whilst  the  sun's  course  was  at  its  height;  and  so 
it  went  on  till  midsummer.  That  summer  a  ship  came  out  to 
Hunawater.  On  it  was  a  man  called  Thorgaut.  He  was  an 
outlander  by  race,  big  and  powerful;  he  had  the  strength  of 
two  men.  He  was  in  no  man's  service,  and  alone,  and  he  wished 
to  take  up  some  work,  since  he  had  no  money.  Thorhall  rode 
to  the  ship,  and  met  Thorgaut.  He  asked  him  if  he  would 
work  for  him.  Thorgaut  said  that  might  well  be,  and  that  he 
would  make  no  difficulties. 

"But  thou  must  be  prepared,"  said  Thorhall,  "that  it  is 
no  place  for  weakHngs,  by  reason  of  the  hauntings  which 
have  been  going  on  for  a  while,  for  I  will  not  let  thee  into  a 
trap." 

Thorgaut  answered,  "It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  I  am 
undone,  even  though  I  were  to  see  some  little  ghosts.  It  must  be 
no  easy  matter  for  others  if  I  am  frightened,  and  I  mil  not  give 
up  my  place  for  that." 

So  now  they  agreed  well,  and  Thorgaut  was  to  watch  the 
sheep  when  winter  came.  ^ 

Now  the  summer  passed  on.  Thorgaut  took  charge  of  the 
sheep  at  the  winter-nights.  He  was  well-pleasing  to  all.  Glam 
ever  came  home  and  rode  on  the  roofs.  Thorgaut  thought  it 
sporting,  and  said  that  the  thrall  would  have  to  come  nearer 


168  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

in  order  to  scare  him.  But  Thorhall  bade  him  keep  quiet: 
"It  is  best  that  ye  should  not  try  your  strength  together." 
Thorgaut  said,  "Verily,,  your  courage  is  shaken  out  of  you: 
I  shall  not  drop  down  with  fear  between  day  and  night  over 
such  talk." 

Now  things  went  on  through  the  winter  up  to  Yule-tide. 
On  Yule  evening  the  shepherd  went  out  to  his  sheep.  Then 
p.  151  the  yeoman's  wife  said,  "  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  now  things  will 
not  go  in  the  old  way." 

He  answered,  • "  Be  not  afraid  of  that,  mistress ;  something 
worth  telhng  will  have  happened  if  I  do  not  come  back." 

Then  he  went  to  his  sheep.  The  weather  was  cold,  and  it 
snowed  much.  Thorgaut  was  wont  to  come  home  when  it  was 
twilight,  but  now  he  did  not  come  at  that  time.  Men  came  to 
the  service,  as  was  the  custom.  It  seemed  to  people  that 
things  were  going  as  they  had  before.  The  yeoman  wished  to 
have  search  made  for  the  shepherd,  but  the  church-goers 
excused  themselves,  and  said  they  would  not  risk  themselves 
out  in  the  hands  of  the  trolls  by  night.  And  the  yeoman  did  not 
dare  to  go,  so  the  search  came  to  nothing. 

On  Yule-day,  when  men  had  eaten,  they  went  and  searched 
for  the  shepherd.  They  went  first  to  Glam's  cairn,  because  men 
thought  that  the  shepherd's  disappearance  must  have  been 
through  his  bringing-about.  But  when  they  came  near  the 
cairn  they  saw  great  things,  for  there  they  found  the  shepherd 
with  his  neck  broken  and  not  a  bone  in  him  whole.  Then  they 
carried  him  to  the  church,  and  no  harm  happened  to  any  man 
from  Thorgaut  afterwards;  but  Glam  began  to  increase  in 
strength  anew.  He  did  so  much  that  all  men  fled  away  from 
Thorhall's  Farm,  except  only  the  yeoman  and  his  wife. 

Now  the  same  cattle-herd  had  been  there  a  long  time. 
Thorhall  would  not  let  him  go,  because  of  his  good- will  and  good 
service.  He  was  far  gone  in  age  and  was  very  unwilhng  to 
leave :  he  saw  that  everything  went  to  waste  which  the  yeoman 
had,  if  no  one  looked  after  it.  And  once  after  mid-winter  it 
happened  one  morning  that  the  yeoman's  wife  went  to  the 
byre  to  milk  the  cows  as  usual.  It  was  quite  light,  because  no 
one  dared^  to  go  out  before,  except  the  cattle-herd :    he  went 


Destruction  caused  by  Glam  169 

out  as  soon  as  it  dawned.  She  heard  great  cracking  in  the  byre 
and  a  hideous  bellowing.  She  ran  back,  crying  out,  and  said 
she  did  not  know  what  devilry  was  going  on  in  the  byre. 

The  yeoman  went  out,  and  came  to  the  cattle,  and  they  were 
goring  each  other.  It  seemed  to  him  no  good  to  stay  there,  and 
he  went  further  into  the  hay-barn.  He  saw  where  the  cattle- 
herd  lay,  and  he  had  his  head  in  one  stall  and  his  feet  in  the 
next.  He  lay  on  his  back.  The  yeoman  went  to  him  and  felt 
him.  He  soon  found  that  he  was  dead,  and  his  back-bone  broken 
in  two ;  it  had  been  broken  over  the  partition  slab. 

Now  it  seemed  no  longer  bearable  to  Thorhall,  and  he  left  his 
farm  with  all  that  he  could  carry  away;  but  all  the  live-stock 
left  behind  Glam  killed.  After  that  he  went  through  all  the  p.  152 
dale  and  laid  waste  all  the  farms  up  from  Tongue.  Thorhall 
spent  what  was  left  of  the  winter  with  his  friends.  No  man 
could  go  up  into  the  dale  with  horse  or  hound,  because  it  was 
slain  forthwith.  But  when  spring  came,  and  the  course  of  the 
sun  was  highest,  the  apparitions  abated  somewhat.  Now 
Thorhall  wished  to  go  back  to  his  land.  It  was  not  easy  for 
him  to  get  servants,  but  still  he  set  up  house  at  Thorhall's  Farm. 

All  went  the  same  way  as  before.  When  autumn  came  on 
the  hauntings  began  to  increase.  The  yeoman's  daughter  was 
most  attacked,  and  it  fared  so  that  she  died.  Many  counsels 
were  taken,  but  nefthing  was  done.  Things  seemed  to  men  to 
be  looking  as  if  all  Water-dale  must  be  laid  waste,  unless  some 
remedies  could  be  found. 

Now  the  stoiy  must  be  taken  up  about  Grettir,  how  he  sat 
at  home  at  Bjarg  that  autumn,  after  he  had  parted  from  Barthi- 
of-the-Slayings  at  Thorey's  Peak.  And  when  it  had  almost 
come  to  the  winter-nights,  Grettir  rode  from  home,  north  over 
the  neck  to  Willow-dale,  and  was  a  guest  at  Authun's  Farm. 
He  was  fully  reconciled  to  Authun,  and  gave  him  a  good  axe, 
and  they  spake  of  their  wish  for  friendship  one  with  the  other. 
(Authun  dwelt  long  at  Authun's  Farm,  and  much  goodly  off- 
spring had  he.  Egil  was  his  son,  who  wedded  Ulfheith,  daughter 
of  Eyjolf  Guthmundson;  and  their  son  was  Eyjolf,  who  was 
slain  at  the  All-Thing.     He  was  father  of  Orm,  chaplain  to 


170  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

Bishop  Thorlak.)  Grettir  rode  north  to  Water-dale  and  came 
on  a  visit  to  Tongue.  At  that  time  Jokul  Barthson  lived 
there,  Grettir' s  uncle.  Jokul  was  a  man  great  and  strong  and 
very  proud.  He  was  a  seafaring  man,  and  very  over-bearing, 
yet  of  great  account.  He  received  Grettir  well,  and  Grettir  was 
there  three  nights. 

There  was  so  much  said  about  the  apparitions  of  Glam 
that  nothing  was  spoken  of  by  men  equally  with  that. 
Grettir  inquired  exactly  about  the  events  which  had  happened. 
Jokul  said  that  nothing  more  had  been  spoken  than  had 
verily  occurred.  "But  art  thou  anxious,  kinsman,  to  go 
there?" 

Grettir  said  that  that  was  the  truth.  Jokul  begged  him  not 
to  do  so,  "  For  that  is  a  great  risk  of  thy  luck,  and  thy  kinsmen 
have  much  at  stake  where  thou  art,"  said  he,  "  for  none  of  the 
young  men  seems  to  us  to  be  equal  to  thee;  but  ill  will  come  of 
ill  where  Glam  is,  and  it  is  much  better  to  have  to  do  with  mortal 
men  than  with  evil  creatures  Hke  that." 

Grettir  said  he  was  minded  to  go  to  Thorhall's  Farm  and 
p.  153  see  how  things  had  fared  there.  Jokul  said,  "  I  see  now  that  it 
is  of  no  avail  to  stop  thee,  but  true  it  is  what  men  say,  that 
good-luck  is  one  thing,  and  goodliness  another." 

"  Woe  is  before  one  man's  door  when  it  is  come  into  another's 
house.  Think  how  it  may  fare  with  thee  thyself  before  the  end," 
said  Grettir. 

Jokul  answered,  "  It  may  be  that  both  of  us  can  see  somewhat 
into  the  future,  but  neither  can  do  aught  in  the  matter." 

After  that  they  parted,  and  neither  was  pleased  with  the 
other's  foreboding. 

Grettir  rode  to  Thorhall's  Farm,  and  the  yeoman  greeted 
him  well.  He  asked  whither  Grettir  meant  to  go,  but  Grettir 
said  he  would  stay  there  over  the  night  if  the  yeoman  would 
have  it  so.  Thorhall  said  he  owed  him  thanks  for  being  there, 
"  But  few  men  find  it  a  profit  to  stay  here  for  any  time.  Thou 
must  have  heard  what  the  dealings  are  here,  and  I  would  fain 
that  thou  shouldst  have  no  troubles  on  my  account ;  but  though 
thou  shouldst  come  whole  away,  I  know  for  certain  that  thou 


Grettir  at  ThorhalVs  Farm  171 

wilt  lose  thy  steed,  for  no  one  who  comes  here  keeps  his  horse 
whole." 

Grettir  said  there  were  plenty  of  horses,  whatever  should 
become  of  this  one. 

Thorhall  was  glad  that  Grettir  would  stay  there,  and  wel- 
comed him  exceedingly. 

Grettir's  horse  was  strongly  locked  in  an  out-house.  They 
went  to  sleep,  and  so  the  night  passed  without  Glam  coming 
home.  Then  Thorhall  said,  "Things  have  taken  a  good  turn 
against  thy  coming,  for  every  night  Glam  has  been  wont  to 
ride  the  roofs  or  break  up  the  doors,  even  as  thou  canst  see." 

Grettir  said,  "Then  must  one  of  two  things  happen.  Either 
he  will  not  long  hold  himself  in,  or  the  wonted  haunting 
will  cease  for  more  than  one  night.  I  will  stay  here  another 
night  and  see  how  it  goes." 

Then  they  went  to  Grettir's  horse,  and  he  had  not  been 
attacked.  Then  everything  seemed  to  the  yeoman  to  be  going 
one  way.  Now  Grettir  stayed  for  another  night,  and  the  thrall 
did  not  come  home.  Then  things  seemed  to  the  yeoman  to  be 
taking  a  very  hopeful  turn.  He  went  to  look  after  Grettir's 
horse.  When  he  came  there,  the  stable  was  broken  into,  and  the 
horse  dragged  out  to  the  door,  and  every  bone  in  him  broken 
asunder. 

Thorhall  told  Grettir  what  had  happened,  and  bade  him 
save  his  own  life — "For  thy  death  is  sure  if  thou  waitest  for 
Glam." 

Grettir  answered,  "  The  least  I  must  have  in  exchange  for 
my  horse  is  to  see  the  thrall." 

The  yeoman  said  that  there  was  no  good  in  seeing  him: 
" For  he  is  unhke  any  shape  of  man ;  but  every  hour  that  thoup.  154 
wilt  stay  here  seems  good  to  me."  fT 

Now  the  day  went  on,  and  when  bed-time  came  Grettir  \ 
would  not  put  off  his  clothes,  but  lay  down  in  the  seat  over 
against  the  yeoman's  sleeping-chamber.  He  had  a  shaggy  cloak 
over  him,  and  wrapped  one  corner  of  it  down  under  his  feet,  and 
twisted  the  other  under  his  head  and  looked  out  through  the 
head-opening.  There  was  a  great  and  strong  partition  beam  in 
front  of  the  seat,  and  he  put  his  feet  against  it.     The  door- 


172  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

frame  was  all  broken  away  from  the  outer  door,  but  now  boards, 
fastened  together  carelessly  anyhow,  had  been  tied  in  front. 
The  panelling  which  had  been  in  front  was  all  broken  away 
from  the  hall,  both  above  and  below  the  cross-beam ;  the  beds 
were  all  torn  out  of  their  places,  and  everything  was  very 
wretched  ^. 

A  light  burned  in  the  hall  during  the  night:  and  when  a 
third  part  of  the  night  was  past,  Grettir  heard  a  great  noise 
outside.  Some  creature  had  mounted  upon  the  buildings  and 
was  riding  upon  the  hall  and  beating  it  with  its  heels,  so  that 
it  cracked  in  every  rafter.  This  went  on  a  long  time.  Then 
the  creature  came  down  from  the  buildings  and  went  to  the 
door.  When  the  door  was  opened  Grettir  saw  that  the  thrall 
had  stretched  in  his  head,  and  it  seemed  to  him  monstrously 
great  and  wonderfully  huge.  Glam  went  slowly  and  stretched 
himself  up  when  he  came  inside  the  door.  He  towered  up  to 
the  roof.  He  turned  and  laid  his  arm  upon  the  cross-beam  and 
glared  in  upon  the  hall.  The  yeoman  did  not  let  himself  be 
heard,  because  the  noise  he  heard  outside  seemed  to  him  enough. 
Grettir  lay  quiet  and  did  not  move. 

Glam  saw  that  a  heap  lay  upon  the  seat,  and  he  stalked 
in  up  the  hall  and  gripped  the  cloak  wondrous  fast.  Grettir 
pressed  his  feet  against  the  post  and  gave  not  at  all.  Glam 
pulled  a  second  time  much  more  violently,  and  the  cloak  did 
not  move.  A  third  time  he  gripped  with  both  hands  so  mightily 
that  he  pulled  Grettir  up  from  the  seat,  and  now  the  cloak  was 
torn  asunder  between  them. 

Glam  gazed  at  the  portion  which  he  held,  and  wondered 
much  who  could  have  pulled  so  hard  against  him ;  and  at  that 
moment  Grettir  leapt  under  his  arms  and  grasped  him  round 

^  Immediately  inside  the  door  of  the  Icelandic  dwelling  was  the  anddyri  or 
vestibule.  For  want  of  a  better  word,  I  translate  anddyri  by  "porch":  but  it 
is  a  porch  inside  the  building.  Opening  out  of  this  'porch'  were  a  number  of 
rooms.  Chief  among  which  were  the  skdli  or  "hall,"  and  the  stufa  or  "  sitting 
room,"  the  latter  reached  by  a  passage  {gqng).  These  were  separated  from  the 
*' porch"  by  panelling.  In  the  struggle  with  Glam,  Grettir  is  lying  in  the  hall 
{skdli) J  but  the  panelling  has  all  been  broken  away  from  the  great  cross-beam 
to  which  it  was  fixed.  Grettir  consequently  sees  Glam  enter  the  outer  door; 
Glam  turns  to  the  shdli,  and  glares  down  it,  leaning  over  the  cross-beam;  then 
enters  the  hall,  and  the  struggle  begins.  See  GuSmundssen  (V.),  Privatbolegen 
pa  Island  i  Sagatiden,  1889. 


Grettir  overthrows  Glam  173 

the  middle,  and  bent  his  back  as  mightily  as  he  could,  reckoning 
that  Glam  would  sink  to  his  knees  at  his  attack.  But  the  thrall 
laid  such  a  grip  on  Grettir' s  arm  that  he  recoiled  at  the  might 
of  it.  Then  Grettir  gave  way  from  one  seat  to  another.  The 
beams  ^  started,  and  all  that  came  in  their  way  was  broken. 
Glam  wished  to  get  out,  but  Grettir  set  his  feet  against  any  p.  155 
support  he  could  find ;  nevertheless  Glam  dragged  him  forward 
out  of  the  hall.  And  there  they  had  a  sore  wrestling,  in  that 
the  thrall  meant  to  drag  him  right  out  of  the  building;  but 
ill  as  it  was  to  have  to  do  with  Glam  inside,  Grettir  saw  that  it 
would  be  yet  worse  without,  and  so  he  struggled  with  all  his 
might  against  going  out.  Glam  put  forth  all  his  strength,  and 
dragged  Grettir  towards  himself  when  they  came  to  the  porch. 
And  when  Grettir  saw  that  he  could  not  resist,  then  all  at  once 
he  flung  himself  against  the  breast  of  the  thrall,  as  powerfully 
as  he  could,  and  pressed  forward  with  both  his  feet  against 
a  stone  which  stood  fast  in  the  earth  at  the  entrance.  The 
thrall  was  not  ready  for  this,  he  had  been  pulHng  to  drag 
Grettir  towards  himself;  and  thereupon  he  stumbled  on  his  back 
out  of  doors,  so  that  his  shoulders  smote  against  the  cross- 
piece  of  the  door,  and  the  roof  clave  asunder,  both  wood  and 
frozen  thatch.  So  Glam  fell  backwards  out  of  the  house  and 
Grettir  on  top  of  him.  There  was  bright  moonshine  and 
broken  clouds  without.  At  times  they  drifted  in  front  of  the 
moon  and  at  times  away.  Now  at  the  moment  when  Glam 
fell,  the  clouds  cleared  from  before  the  moon,  and  Glam 
rolled  up  his  eyes;  and  Grettir  himself  has  said  that  that 
was  the  one  sight  he  had  seen  which  struck  fear  into  him. 
Then  such  a  sinking  came  over  Grettir,  from  his  weariness 
and  from  that  sight  of  Glam  rolhng  his  eyes,  that  he  had 
no  strength  to  draw  his  knife  and  lay  almost  between  life  and 
death. 

1  The  partition  beams  (set-stokkar)  stood  between  the  middle  of  the  skdli  or 
hall  and  the  planked  dais  which  ran  down  each  side.  The  strength  of  the 
combatants  is  such  that  the  stokkar  give  way.  Grettir  gets  no  footing  to  with- 
stand Glam  till  they  reach  the  outer-door.  Here  there  is  a  stone  set  in  the 
ground,  which  apparently  gives  a  better  footing  for  a  push  than  for  a  puU. 
So  Grettir  changes  his  tactics,  gets  a  purchase  on  the  stone,  and  at  the  same 
time  pushes  against  Glam's  breast,  and  so  dashes  Glam's  head  and  shoulders 
against  the  lintel  of  the  outer-door. 


174  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

But  in  this  was  there  more  power  for  evil  in  Glam  than  in 
most  other  a'pparitions,  in  that  he  spake  thus :  "  Much  eagerness 
hast  thou  shown,  Grettir,"  said  he,  "to  meet  with  me.  But  no 
wonder  will  it  seem  if  thou  hast  no  good  luck  from  me.  And  this 
can  I  tell  thee,  that  thou  hast  now  achieved  one  half  of  the  power 
and  might  which  was  fated  for  thee  if  thou  hadst  not  met  with 
me.  Now  no  power  have  I  to  take  that  might  from  thee  to 
which  thou  hast  attained.  But  in  this  may  I  have  my  way, 
that  thou  shalt  never  become  stronger  than  now  thou  art,  and 
yet  art  thou  strong  enough,  as  many  a  one  shall  find  to  his  cost. 
Famous  hast  thou  been  till  now  for  thy  deeds,  but  from  now  on 
shall  exiles  and  manslaughters  fall  to  thy  lot,  and  almost  all 
of  thy  labours  shall  turn  to  ill-luck  and  unhappiness.  Thou 
shalt  be  outlawed  and  doomed  ever  to  dwell  alone,  away  from 
men;  and  then  lay  I  this  fate  on  thee,  that  these  eyes  of  mine 
be  ever  before  thy  sight,  and  it  shall  seem  grievous  unto  thee 
to  be  alone,  and  that  shall  drag  thee  to  thy  death." 

And  when  the  thrall  had  said  this,  the  swoon  which  had 
p.  156  fallen  upon  Grettir  passed  from  him.  Then  he  drew  his  sword 
and  smote  off  Glam's  head,  and  placed  it  by  his  thigh. 

Then  the  yeoman  came  out :  he  had  clad  himself  whilst  Glam 
was  uttering  his  curse,  but  he  dare  in  no  wise  come  near  before 
Glam  had  fallen.  Thorhall  praised  God  for  it,  and  thanked 
Grettir  well  for  haAdng  vanquished  the  unclean  spirit. 

Then  they  set  to  work  and  burned  Glam  to  cold  cinders. 
After,  they  put  the  ashes  in  a  skin-bag  and  buried  them  as  far 
as  possible  from  the  ways  of  man  or  beast.  After  that  they 
went  home,  and  by  that  time  it  was  well  on  to  day.  Grettir 
lay  down,  for  he  was  very  stiff.  Thorhall  sent  people  to  the 
next  farm  for  men,  and  showed  to  them  what  had  happened. 
To  all  those  who  heard  of  it,  it  seemed  a  work  of  great  account; 
and  that  was  then  spoken  by  all,  that  no  man  in  all  the  land 
was  equal  to  Grettir  Asmundarson  for  might  and  valour  and  all 
prowess.  Thorhall  sent  Grettir  from  his  house  with  honour,  and 
gave  him  a  good  horse  and  fit  clothing ;  for  all  the  clothes  which 
he  had  worn  before  were  torn  asunder.  They  parted  great 
friends.  Grettir  rode  thence  to  Ridge  in  Water-dale,  and 
Thorvald  greeted  him  well,  and  asked  closely  as  to  his  meeting 


GlcmCs  curse.    Haunting s  at  Sandhaugar         175 

with  Glain.  Grettir  told  him  of  their  dealings,  and  said  that 
never  had  he  had  such  a  trial  of  strength,  so  long  a  struggle  had 
theirs  been  together. 

Thorvald  bade  him  keep  quiet,  "and  then  all  will  be  well, 
otherwise  there  are  bound  to  be  troubles  for  thee." 

Grettir  said  that  his  temper  had  not  bettered,  and  that  he 
was  now  more  unruly  than  before,  and  all  offences  seemed  worse 
to  him.  And  in  that  he  found  a  great  difierence,  that  he  had 
become  so  afraid  of  the  dark  that  he  did  not  dare  to  go  anywhere 
alone  after  night  had  fallen.  All  kinds  of  horrors  appeared  to 
him  then.  And  that  has  since  passed  into  a  proverb,  that  Glam 
gives  eyes,  or  gives  "glam-sight"  to  those  to  whom  things  seem 
quite  other  than  they  are.  Grettir  rode  home  to  Bjarg  when 
he  had  done  his  errand,  and  remained  at  home  during  the 
winter. 

(6)    Sandhaugar  episode  (p.  156  above) 

There  was  a  priest  called  Stein  who  lived  at  Eyjardalsd 
(Isledale  River)  in  Barthardal.  He  was  a  good  husbandman 
and  rich  in  cattle.  His  son  was  Kjartan,  a  doughty  man  and 
well  grown.  There  was  a  man  called  Thorstein  the  White  who 
lived  at  Sandhaugar  (Sandheaps),  south  of  Isledale  river ;  his  p.  157 
wife  was  called  Steinvor,  and  she  was  young  and  merry.  They 
had  children,  who  were  young  then. 

People  thought  the  place  was  much  haunted  by  reason  of 
the  visitation  of  trolls.  It  happened,  two  winters  before  Grettir 
came  North  into  those  districts,  that  the  good-wife  Steinvor  at 
Sandhaugar  went  to  a  Christmas  service,  according  to  her 
custom,  at  Isledale  river,  but  her  husband  remained  at  home. 
In  the  evening  men  went  to  bed,  and  during  the  night  they  heard 
a  great  rummage  in  the  hall,  and  by  the  good-man's  bed.  No 
one  dared  to  get  up  to  look  to  it,  because  there  were  very  few 
men  about.  The  good-wife  came  home  in  the  morning,  but  her 
husband  had  vanished,  and  no  one  knew  what  had  become  of 
him. 

The  next  year  passed  away.  But  the  winter  after,  the  good- 
wife  wished  again  to  go  to  the  church-service,  and  she  bade  her 


176  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

manservant  remain  at  home.  He  was  unwilling,  but  said  she 
must  have  her  own  way.  All  went  in  the  same  manner  as 
before,  and  the  servant  vanished.  People  thought  that  strange. 
They  saw  some  splashes  of  blood  on  the  outer  door,  and  men 
thought  that  evil  beings  must  have  taken  away  both  the  good- 
man  and  the  servant. 

The  news  of  this  spread  wide  throughout  the  country. 
Grettir  heard  of  it ;  and  because  it  was  his  fortune  to  get  rid 
of  hauntings  and  spirit- walkings,  he  took  his  way  to  Barthardal, 
and  came  to  Sandhaugar  on  Yule  eve.  He  disguised  himself^, 
and  said  his  name  was  Guest.  The  good-wife  saw  that  he  was 
great  of  stature;  and  the  farm-folk  were  much  afraid  of  him. 
He  asked  for  quarters  for  the  night.  The  good-wife  said  that 
he  could  have  meat  forthwith,  but  "  You  must  look  after  your 
own  safety." 

He  said  it  should  be  so.  "I  will  be  at  home,''  said  he,  "and 
you  can  go  to  the  service  if  you  will." 

She  answered,  "  You  are  a  brave  man,  it  seems  to  me,  if  you 
dare  to  remain  at  home." 

"I  do  not  care  to  have  things  all  one  way^,"  said  he. 

"It  seems  ill  to  me  to  be  at  home,"  said  she,  "but  I  cannot 
get  over  the  river." 

"I  will  see  you  over,"  said  Guest. 

Then  she  got  ready  to  go  to  the  service,  and  her  small 
daughter  with  her.  It  was  thawing,  the  river  was  in  flood,  and 
there  were  ice- floes  in  it.  Then  the  good- wife  said,  "It  is 
impossible  for  man  or  horse  to  get  across  the  river." 

"There  must  be  fords  in   it,"   said  Guest,    "do  not  be 
afraid." 
p.  158       "Do  you  carry  the  child  first,"  said  the  good- wife,  "she  is 
the  lighter." 

"1  do  not  care  to  make  two  journeys  of  it,"  said  Guest, 
"and  I  will  carry  thee  on  my  arm." 

She  crossed  herself  and  said,  "  That  is  an  impossible  way ; 
what  will  you  do  with  the  child?" 

1  So  MS  551  a.    Magniisson  reads  dvaldistpar  "  he  stayed  there." 

2  Meaning  that  an  attack  by  the  evil  beings  would  at  least  break  the 
monotony. 


Grettir  at  Sandhaugar  177 

"I  will  see  a  way  for  that,"  said  he;  and  then  he  took  them 
both  up,  and  set  the  child  on  her  mother's  knee  and  so  bore  them 
both  on  his  left  arm.  But  he  had  his  right  hand  free,  and  thus 
he  waded  out  into  the  ford. 

They  did  not  dare  to  cry  out,  so  much  afraid  were  they. 
The  river  washed  at  once  up  against  his  breast ;  then  it  tossed 
a  great  icefloe  against  him,  but  he  put  out  the  hand  that  was 
free  and  pushed  it  from  him.  Then  it  grew  so  deep  that  the 
river  dashed  over  his  shoulder ;  but  he  waded  stoutly  on,  until 

he  came  to  the  bank  on  the  other  side,  and  threw  Steinvor  and 

her  daughter  on  the  land. 

Then  he  turned  back,  and  it  was  half  dark  when  he  came  to 
Sandhaugar  and  called  for  meat ;  and  when  he  had  eaten,  he 
bade  the  farm  folk  go  to  the  far  side  of  the  room.  Then  he 
took  boards  and  loose  timber  which  he  dragged  across  the  room, 
and  made  a  great  barrier  so  that  none  of  the  farm  folk  could 
come  over  it.  No  one  dared  to  say  anything  against  him  qje  ff\ 
to  murmur  in  any  wise.  The  entrance  was  in  the  side  wall 
of  the  chamber  by  the  gable-end,  and  there  was  a  dais  there. 
Guest  lay  down  there,  but  did  not  take  ofE  his  clothes :  a  hght 
was  burning  in  the  room  over  against  the  door :  Guest  lay  there 
far  into  the  night. 

The  good- wife  came  to  Isledale  river  to  the  service,  and  men 
wondered  how  she  had  crossed  the  river.  She  said  she  did  not 
know  whether  it  was  a  man  or  a  troll  who  had  carried  her  over. 
The  priest  said,  "  It  must  surely  be  a  man,  although  there  are 
few  like  him.  And  let  us  say  nothing  about  it,"  said  he,  "it 
may  be  that  he  is  destined  to  work  a  remedy  for  your  evils." 
The  good-wife  remained  there  through  the  night. 

Now  it  is  to  be  told  concerning  Grettir  that  when  it  drew 
towards  midnight  he  heard  great  noises  outside.  Thereupon 
there  came  into  the  room  a  great  giantess.  She  had  in  one  hand 
a  trough  and  in  the  other  a  short-sword^.iather  a  big  one.  She 
looked  round"  when  she  came  in,  and  saw  where  Guest  lay,  and 
sprang  at  him ;  but  he  sprang  up  against  her,  and  they  struggled 
fiercely  and  wrestled  for  a  long  time  in  the  room.     She  was  the 

as.  12 


178  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

stronger,  but  he  gave  way  warily ;  and  they  broke  all  that  was 
before  them,  as  well  as  the  panelling  of  the  room.  She  dragged 
him  forward  through  the  door  and  so^  into  the  porch,  and  he 
p.  159  struggled  hard  against  her.  She  wished  to  drag  him  out  of  the 
house,  but  that  did  not  happen  until  they  had  broken  all  the 
fittings  of  the  outer  doorway  and  forced  them  out  on  their 
shoulders.  Then  she  dragged  him  slowly  down  towards  the 
river  and  right  along  to  the  gorge. 

By  that  time  Guest  was  exceedingly  weary,  but  yet,  one  or 
other  it  had  to  be,  either  he  had  to  gather  his  strength  together, 
.  or  else  she  would  have  hurled  him  down  into  the  gorge.  All 
*^  night  they  struggled.  He  thought  that  he  had  never  grappled 
with  such  a  devil  in  the  matter  of  strength.  She  had  got  such 
a  grip  upon  him  that  he  could  do  nothing  with  either  hand, 
except  to  hold  the  witch  by  the  middle ;  but  when  they  came  to 
the  gorge  of  the  river  he  swung  the  giantess  round,  and  there- 
upon got  his  right  hand  free.  Then  quickly  .he  gripped  his 
knife  that  he  wore  in  his  girdle  and  drew  it,  and  smote  the 
shoulder  of  the  giantess  so  that  he  cut  ofi  her  right  arm. 
So  he  got  free:  but  she  fell  into  the  gorge,  and  so  into  the 
rapids  below. 

Guest  was  then  both  stiff  and  tired,  and  lay  long  on  the 
rocks ;  then  he  went  home  when  it  began  to  grow  light,  and  lay 
down  in  bed.     He  was  all  swollen  black  and  blue. 

And  when  the  good- wife  came  from  the  service,  it  seemed  to 
her  that  things  had  been  somewhat  disarranged  in  her  house. 
Then  she  went  to  Guest  and  asked  him  what  had  happened,  that 
all  was  broken  and  destroyed  2.  He  told  her  all  that  had  taken 
place.  She  thought  it  very  wonderful,  and  asked  who  he  was. 
He  told  her  the  truth,  and  asked  her  to  send  for  the  priest,  and 
said  he  wished  to  meet  him ;  and  so  it  was  done. 

Then  when  Stein  the  priest  came  to  Sandhaugar,  he  knew 
soon  that  it  was  Grettir  Asmundarson  who  had  come  there, 
and  who  had  called  himself  Guest. 

The  priest  asked  Grettir  what  he  thought  must  have  become 

of  those  men  who  had  vanished.     Grettir  said  he  thought  they 

*  A  passage  (gqng)  had  to  be  traversed  between  the  door  of  the  room  {stufa) 
and  the  porch  {anddyri). 

2  MSS  hosU.     Boer  reads  bolat  "hewn  down." 


Grettir  and  the  Priest  Stein  179 

must  have  vanished  into  the  gorge.  The  priest  said  that  he 
could  not  believe  Grettir's  saying,  if  no  signs  of  it  were  to  be 
seen.  Grettir  said  that  they  would  know  more  accurately 
about  it  later.  Then  the  priest  went  home.  Grettir  lay  many 
days  in  bed.  The  good- wife  looked  after  him  well,  and  so  the 
Christmas-time  passed. 

Grettir's  account  was  that  the  giantess  fell  into  the  gulf 
when  she  got  her  wound ;  but  the  men  of  Barthardal  say  that 
day  came  upon  her  whilst  they  wrestled,  and  that  she  burst 
when  he  smote  her  hand  off,  and  that  she  stands  there  on  the 
clifE  yet,  a  rock  in  the  likeness  of  a  woman^. 

The  dwellers  in  the  dale  kept  Grettir  in  hiding  there.  But 
after  Christmas  time,  one  day  that  winter,  Grettir  went  to 
Isledale  river.  And  when  Grettir  and  the  priest  met,  Grettir 
said,  "  I  see,  priest,  that  you  place  httle  belief  in  my  words,  p.  160 
Now  will  I  that  you  go  with  me  to  the  river  and  see  what  the 
likelihood  seems  to  you  to  be." 

The  priest  did  so.  But  when  they  came  to  the  waterfall 
they  saw  that  the  sides  of  the  gorge  hung  over^ :  it  was  a  sheer  cliff 
so  great  that  one  could  in  nowise  come  up,  and  it  was  nearly 
ten  fathoms^  from  the  top  to  the  water  below.  They  had  a  rope 
with  them.  Then  the  priest  said,  "  It  seems  to  me  quite  im- 
possible for  thee  to  get  down." 

Grettir  said,  "  Assuredly  it  is  possible,  but  best  for  those  who 
are  men  of  valour.  I  will  examine  what  is  in  the  waterfall, 
and  thou  shalt  watch  the  rope." 


1  A  night  troll,  if  caught  by  the  sunrise,  was  supposed  to  turn  into  stone. 

2  Skuta  may  be  ace.  of  the  noun  skuti,  "overhanging  precipice,  cave";  or 
it  may  be  the  verb,  "hang  over."  Grettir  and  his  companion  see  that  the  sides 
of  the  ravine  are  precipitous  {skuta  upp)  and  so  clean-cut  {nieitil-berg:  meitill, 
"  a  chisel")  that  they  give  no  hold  to  the  climber.  Hence  the  need  for  the  rope. 
The  translators  all  take  skuta  as  ace.  of  skuti,  which  is  quite  possible:  but  they 
are  surely  wrong  when  they  proceed  to  identify  the  skuti  with  the  hellir  behind 
the  waterfall.  For  this  cave  behind  the  waterfall  is  introduced  in  the  saga  as 
something  which  Grettir  discovers  after  he  has  dived  beneath  the  fall,  the  fall 
in  front  naturally  hiding  it  till  then. 

The  verb  skuta  occurs  elsewhere  in  Grettis  saga,  of  the  glaciers  overhanging 
a  valley.  Boer's  attempt  to  reconstruct  the  scene  appears  to  me  wrong:  cf. 
Ranisch  in  A.f.d.A.  xxviii,  217. 

3  The  old  editions  read  fimm  tigir  faSma  "fifty  fathoms":  but  according 
to  Boer's  collation  the  best  ms  (A)  reads  X,  whilst  four  of  the  five  others 
collated  give  XV  (fimtdn).  The  editors  seem  dissatisfied  with  this:  yet  sixty 
to  ninety  feet  seems  a  good  enough  height  for  a  dive. 

12—2 


180  Extracts  from  Grettis  Saga 

The  priest  said  it  should  be  as  he  wished,  drove  a  peg  into 
the  cliff,  piled  stones  against  it,  and  sat  by  it^. 

Now  it  must  be  told  concerning  Grettir  that  he  knotted  a 
stone  into  the  rope,  and  so  let  it  down  to  the  water. 

"What  way,"  said  the  priest,  "do  you  mean  to  go? " 

"  I  will  not  be  bound,"  said  Grettir,"  when  I  go  into  the  water, 
so  much  my  mind  forebodes  me." 

After  that  he  got  ready  for  his  exploit,  and  had  little  on; 
he  girded  himself  with  his  short  sword,  and  had  no  other  weapon. 

Then  he  plunged  from  the  cliff  down  into  the  waterfall. 
The  priest  saw  the  soles  of  his  feet,  and  knew  no  more  what 
had  become  of  him.  Grettir  dived  under  the  waterfall,  and  that 
was  difficult  because  there  was  a  great  eddy,  and  he  had  to 
dive  right  to  the  bottom  before  he  could  come  up  behind  the 
waterfall.  There  was  a  jutting  rock  and  he  climbed  upon  it. 
There  was  a  great  cave  behind  the  waterfall,  and  the  river  fell 
in  front  of  it  from  the  precipice.  He  went  into  the  cave,  and 
there  was  a  big  fire  burning.  Grettir  saw  that  there  sat  a  giant  of 
frightful  size.  He  was  terrible  to  look  upon :  but  when  Grettir 
came  to  him,  the  giant  leapt  up  and  seized  a  pike,  and  hewed  at 
the  new-comer :  for  with  the  pike  he  could  both  cut  and  stab. 
It  had  a  handle  of  wood:  men  at  that  time  called  a  weapon 
made  in  such  a  way  a  heptisax.  Grettir  smote  against  it  with 
his  short  sword,  and  struck  the  handle  so  that  he  cut  it  asunder. 
X  i  Then  the  giant  tried  to  reach  back  for  a  sword  which  hung 
Jir  behind  him  in  the  cave.  Thereupon  Grettir  smote  him  in  the 
breast,  and  struck  off  almost  all  the  lower  part  of  his  chest  and 
his  belly,  so  that  the  entrails  gushed  out  of  him  down  into  the 
river,  and  were  swept  along  the  current. 

And  as  the  priest  sat  by  the  rope  he  saw  some  lumps,  clotted 
p.  161  with  blood,  carried  down  stream.  Then  he  became  unsteady, 
and  thought  that  now  he  knew  that  Grettir  must  be  dead :  and 
he  ran  from  keeping  the  rope  and  went  home.  It  was  then 
evening,  and  the  priest  said  for  certain  that  Grettir  was  dead, 
and  added  that  it  was  a  great  loss  of  such  a  man. 

Now  the  tale  must  be  told  concerning  Grettir.  He  let  little 
space  go  between  his  blows  till  the  giant  was  dead.     Then  he 

^  ok  sat  J?ar  hjd,  not  in  MS  A,  nor  in  Boer's  edition. 


Adventure  behind  the  waterfall  181 

went  further  into  the  cave ;  he  kindled  a  light  and  examined  it. 
It  is  not  said  how  much  wealth  he  took  in  the  cave,  but  men 
think  that  there  was  something.  He  stayed  there  far  into  the 
night.  He  found  there  the  bones  of  two  men,  and  put  them 
into  a  bag.  Then  he  left  the  cave  and  swam  to  the  rope  and 
shook  it,  for  he  thought  that  the  priest  must  be  there.  But 
when  he  knew  that  the  priest  had  gone  home,  then  he  had  to 
draw  himself  up,  hand  over  hand,  and  so  he  came  up  on  to  the 
cHfE. 

Then  he  went  home  to  Isledale  river,  and  came  to  the  church 
porch,  with  the  bag  that  the  bones  were  in,  and  with  a  rune- 
staff,  on  which  these  verses  were  exceedingly  well  cut : 

There  into  gloomy  gulf  I  passed, 

O'er  which  from  the  rock's  throat  is  cast 

The  swirling  rush  of  waters  wan, 

To  meet  the  sword-player  feared  of  man. 

By  giant's  hall  the  strong  stream  pressed 

Cold  hands  against  the  singer's  breast; 

Huge  weight  upon  him  there  did  hurl 

The  swallower  of  the  changing  whirl^. 

And  this  rhyme  too : 

The  dreadful  dweller  of  the  cave 

Great  strokes  and  many  'gainst  me  drave; 

Full  hard  he  had  to  strive  for  it, 

But  toiling  long  he  wan  no  whit; 

For  from  its  mighty  shaft  of  tree 

The  heft-sax  smote  I  speedily; 

And  dulled  the  flashing  war-flame  fair 

In  the  black  breast  that  met  me  there. 

These  verses  told  also  that  Grettir  had  taken  these  bones  out  p.  162 
of  the  cave.     But  when  the  priest  came  to  the  church  in  the 
morning  he  found  the  staff,  and  what  was  with  it,  and  read  the 
runes ;  but  Grettir  had  gone  home  to  Sandhaugar. 

But  when  the  priest  met  Grettir  he  asked  him  closely  as  to 
what  had  happened :  and  Grettir  told  him  all  the  story  of  his 
journey.  And  he  added  that  the  priest  had  not  watched  the 
rope  faithfully.     The  priest  said  that  that  was  true  enough. 

Men  thought  for  certain  that  these  monsters  must  have 
caused  the  loss  of  men  there  in  the  dale ;  and  there  was  never 
any  loss  from  hauntings  or  spirit-walkings  there  afterwards. 

1  The  two  poems  are  given  according  to  the  version  of  William  Morris. 


182  Extracts  from  BJarha  Rimur 

Grettir  was  thought  to  have  caused  a  great  purging  of  the  land. 
The  priest  buried  these  bones  in  the  churchyard. 

D.    Extracts  prom  Bjarka  RImur 

{Hrdlfs  saga  Kraka  og  Bjarkarimur  udgivne  ved  F.  J6nsson, 
K0benhavn,  1904) 

58.  Flestir  gmuSu  Hetti  heldr, 
hann  var  ekki  i  mali  sneldr, 
einn  dag  foru  J^eir  lit  af  hgll, 
svo  ekki  vissi  hirSin  gll. 

59.  Hjalti  talar  er  felmtinn  faer, 
"fgrum  viS  ekki  skogi  naer, 

her  er  sii  ylgr  sem  etr  upp  menn, 
okkr  drepr  hiin  baSa  senn." 

60.  Ylgrin  hljop  lir  einum  runn, 
ogurlig  meS  gapanda  munn, 
hgrmuligt  varS  Hjalta  viSr, 

a  honum  skalf  bseSi  leggr  og  liSr. 

61.  Otaept  Bjarki  aS  henni  gengr, 
ekki  dvelr  hann  viS  ]?a?>  lengr, 
hgggur  svo  aS  i  hamri  stoS, 

hljop  ur  henni  ferligt  bloS. 

62.  "Kjostu  Hjalti  urn  kosti  tv6," 
kappinn  BgSvar  talaSi  svo, 
"drekk  nii  bloS  eSa  drep  eg  J?ig  her, 
dugrinn  liz  mer  engi  i  ]?er." 

63.  Ansar  Hjalti  af  sernum  moS, 
"ekki  j7ori  eg  a3  drekka  bloS, 
nytir  flest  ef  nauSigr  skal, 

nu  er  ekki  a  betra  val." 

64.  Hjalti  gjgrir  sem  B^Svar  biSr, 
aS  bloSi  fra  eg  hann  lagtJist  niSr, 
drekkur  siSan  drykki  J?rja, 

duga  mun  honum  viS  einn  aS  rjd. 

IV,  58-64. 


Bjarhi  and  Hott  183 

4.  Hann  hefr  fengiS  hjartaS  snjalt 
af  hgrtSum  moSi, 

fekk  hann  huginn  og  afliS  alt 
af  ylgjar  bloSi. 

5.  1  grindur  vandist  grdbjgrn  einn 
i  garSinn  HleiSar, 

var  s4  margur  vargrinn  beinn 
og  visa  sveiSar. 

6.  Bjarka  er  kent,  aS  hjarSarhunda 
hafi  hann  drepna, 

ekki  er  honum  allvel  hent 
vis  ]fta  kepna. 

7.  Hrolfur  byst  og  hirS  hans  gll 
a5  huna  styri, 

"S4  skal  mestr  i  minni  hgll 
er  msetir  dyri." 

8.  Beljandi  hljop  bjgminn  framm 
ur  boli  krukku, 

veifar  sinum  vonda  hramm, 
svo  virSar  hrukku. 

9.  Hjalti  ser  og  horfir  )7a  4, 
er  hafin  er  roma, 

haM  hann  ekki  i  hgndum  J?a 
nema  hnefana  toma. 

10.  Hrolfur  fleygSi  a5  Hjalta  yk 
J>eim  hildar  vendi, 

kappinn  moti  krummu  br4 
og  klotiS  hendi. 

11.  LagSi  hann  siSan  bJQrninn  br4tt 
vis  boginn  haegra, 

bessi  fell  i  briiSar  att 
og  bar  sig  Isegra. 

12.  Vann  hann  J?aS  til  frsegSa  fyst 
og  fieira  siSar, 

hans  var  lundin  Igngum  byst 
i  leiki  griSar. 


184  ExtvdCts  from  Bjarha  Rimur 

13.  Her  meS  fekk  hann  Hjalta  nafn 
hins  hjartapriiSa, 
Bjarki  var  eigi  betri  en  jafn 

vis  byti  skriiSa. 

V,  4-13. 

23.  ASals  var  glaSr  afreksmaSr, 
austur  J?angaS  komu, 

fyrSar  )?eir  meS  franan  geir 
flengja  J^egar  til  romu. 

24.  Ytar  byta  engum  friS, 
unnu  vel  til  mala, 

}?ar  fell  Ali  og  alt  bans  liS 
ungr  i  leiki  stala. 

25.  Hestrinn  beztur  Hrafn  er  kendr, 
hafa  )7eir  teki?5  af  Ala, 

Hildisvin  er  hjalmrinn  vendr, 
hann  kaus  Bjarki  i  m41a. 

26.  QSling  baS  J?4  eigi  drafl 
eiga  um  ngkkur  skipti, 

J?at5  mun  kosta  kongligt  afl, 
hann  kappann  gripunum  svipti. 

27.  Ekki  fotti  BgSvar  betr, 
i  burtu  foru  J?eir  Hjalti, 
letust  aSr  en  liSinn  er  vetr 
leita  aS  FroSa  malti. 

28.  SiSan  riSa  seggir  heim 
og  SQgSu  kongi  J^etta, 

hann  kveSst  mundu  handa  J^eim 
heimta  slikt  af  letta. 

VIII,  23-28. 

Translation  of  Extracts  from  Bjarka  Rimur 

58.  Most  [of  Rolf's  retainers]  much  tormented  Hott  [Hjalti] ; 
he  was  not  cunning  in  speech.  One  day  Hjalti  and  Both  var  went 
out  of  the  hall,  in  such  wise  that  none  of  the  retainers  knew 
thereof. 


BjarTd  and  Hott  185 

59.  Hjalti  spake  in  great  terror,  "Let  us  not  go  near  the 
wood;  here  is  the  she- wolf  who  eats  up  men;  she  will  kill  us  both 
together." 

60.  The  she-wolf  leapt  from  a  thicket,  dread,  with  gaping 
jaws.  A  great  terror  was  it  to  Hjalti,  and  he  trembled  in  every 
limb. 

61.  Without  delay  or  hesitation  went  Bjarki  towards  her, 
and  hewed  at  her  so  that  the  axe  went  deep ;  a  monstrous  stream 
of  blood  gushed  from  her. 

62.  "  Choose  now,  Hjalti,  of  two  things  " — so  spake  Bothvar 
the  champion — "Drink  now  the  blood,  or  I  slay  thee  here;  it 
seems  unto  me  that  there  is  no  valour  in  thee." 

63.  Hjalti  replied  stoutly  enough,  "I  cannot  bring  myself 
to  drink  blood;  but  if  I  needs  must,  it  avails  most  [to  submit], 
and  now  is  there  no  better  choice." 

64.  Hjalti  did  as  Bothvar  bade:  he  stooped  down  to  the 
blood;  then  drank  he  three  sups:  that  will  suffice  him  to  wrestle 
with  one  man. 

IV,  58-64. 

4.  He  [Hjalti]  has  gained  good  courage  and  keen  spirit;  he 
got  strength  and  all  valour  from  the  she- wolf's  blood. 

5.  A  grey  bear  visited  the  folds  at  Hleithargarth ;  many 
such  a  ravager  was  there  far  and  wide  throughout  the  country. 

6.  The  blame  was  laid  upon  Bjarki,  because  he  had  slain 
the  herdsmen's  dogs;  it  was  not  so  suited  for  him  to  have  to 
strive  with  men^. 

7.  Rolf  and  all  his  household  prepared  to  hunt  the  bear; 
"He  who  faces  the  beast  shall  be  greatest  in  my  hall." 

8.  Roaring  did  the  bear  leap  forth  from  out  its  den, 
swinging  its  evil  claws,  so  that  men  shrank  back. 

9.  Hjalti  saw,  he  turned  and  gazed  where  the  battle  began ; 
nought  had  he  then  in  his  hands — his  empty  fists  alone. 

1  On  his  first  arrival  at  Leire,  Bjarki  had  been  attacked  by,  and  had  slain, 
the  watch-dogs  (Rimur,  rv,  41):  this  naturally  brings  him  now  into  disfavour, 
and  he  has  to  dispute  with  men. 


186  Extract  from  pdttr  Orms  Stdrdlfssonar 

10.  Rolf  tossed  then  to  Hjalti  his  wand  of  war  [his  sword]; 
the  warrior  put  forth  his  hand  towards  it,  and  grasped  the 
pommel. 

11.  Quickly  then  he  smote  the  bear  in  the  right  shoulder; 
Bruin  fell  to  the  earth,  and  bore  himself  in  more  lowly  wise. 

12.  That  was  the  beginning  of  his  exploits:  many  followed 
later;  his  spirit  was  ever  excellent  amid  the  play  of  battle. 

13.  Herefrom  he  got  the  name  of  Hjalti  the  stout-hearted: 
Bjarki  was  no  more  than  his  equal. 

V,  4-13. 

23.  Joyful  was  the  vaHant  Athils  when  they  [Bjarki  and 
Rolf's  champions]  came  east  to  that  place  [Lake  Wener] ;  troops 
with  flashing  spears  rode  quickly  forthwith  to  the  battle. 

24.  No  truce  gave  they  to  their  foes :  well  they  earned  their 
pay;  there  fell  Ali  and  all  his  host,  young  in  the  game  of  swords. 

25.  The  best  of  horses,  Hrafn  by  name,  they  took  from  Ali; 
Bjarki  chose  for  his  reward  the  helm  Hildisvin. 

26.  The  prince  [Athils]  bade  them  have  no  talk  about  the 
business;  he  deprived  the  champions^  of  their  treasures — that 
will  be  a  test  of  his  power. 

27.  Ill-pleased  was  Bothvar:  he  and  Hjalti  departed;  they 
declared  that  before  the  winter  was  gone  they  would  seek  for 
the  treasure  [the  malt  of  Frothi]. 

28.  Then  they  rode  home  and  told  it  to  the  king  [Rolf] ;  he 
said  it  was  their  business  to  claim  their  due  outright. 

VIII,  23-28. 

E.      EXTKACT  FROM  }>ATTR  OrMS  StOROLFSSONAR 

(Fommanna  Sggur,  Copenhagen,  1827,  m.  204  efc.; 
Flateyarhdk,  Christiania,  1859-68,  i.  527  etc.) 

7.  Litlu  siSarr  enn  J^eir  Ormr  ok  Asbjgrn  hyfSu  skilit, 
fystist  Asbjgrn  norSr  i  SauSeyjar,  for  hann  viS  4  menn  ok  20 
a  skipi,  heldr  norSr  fyrir  Maeri,  ok  leggr  seint  dags  at  SauSey 

1  Reading  kappana. 


Death  of  Asbiorn  187 

hinni  ytri,  gdnga  d  land  ok  reisa  tjald,  em  )?ar  um  n6ttiiia,  ok 
verSa  vi5  ekki  varir;  um  morgininn  aria  ris  AsbJQrn  upp, 
klaeSir  sik,  ok  tekr  vopn  sin,  ok  gengr  uppa  land,  en  biSr  menn 
sina  biSa  sin;  en  er  nokknt  sva  var  liSit  fra  J>vi,  er  Asbjgrn  hafsi 
i  brott  gengit,  verSa  J^eir  vi5  J?at  varir,  at  ketta  ogrlig  var 
komin  i  tjaldsdyrnar,  hon  var  kolsvgrt  at  lit  ok  heldr  grimmlig, 
)?viat  eldr  J^otti  brenna  or  ngsum  hennar  ok  munni,  eigi  var  hon 
ok  vel  eyg;  J?eim  bra  mjgk  vi5  )7essa  syn,  ok  urSu  ottafullir. 
Ketta  hleypr  J^a  innar  at  feim,  ok  gripr  hvern  at  gSrum,  ok 
svd  er  sagt  at  suma  gleypti  hon,  en  suma  rifi  hon  til  dauSs  meS 
klom  ok  tQnnum,  20  menn  drap  hon  )7ar  a  litilli  stundu,  en  3 
kvomust  lit  ok  undan  ok  a  skip,  ok  heldu  )?egar  undan  landi ; 
en  Asbjgrn  gengr  J?ar  til,  er  hann  kemr  at  hellinum  Briisa,  ok 
snarar  )7egar  inn  i;  honum  varS  nokkut  dimt  fyrir  augum,  en 
skuggamikit  var  i  hellinum;  hann  verSr  eigi  fyrr  var  viS,  enn 
hann  er  J^rifinn  alopt,  ok  fserSr  niSr  sva  hart,  at  Asbirni  J^otti 
fur?ya  i,  verSr  hann  J?ess  J?^  van,  at  )?ar  er  kominn  Brusi  jgtun, 
ok  syndist  heldr  mikiligr.  Briisi  maelti  J?a :  ]>6  lagSir  ]?u  mikit 
kapp  a  at  ssekja  hingat;  skaltu  nii  ok  eyrindi  hafa,  )>viat  J>u 
skalt  her  lifit  lata  meS  sva  miklum  harmkvaelum,  at  )?at  skal 
aSra  letja  at  saekja  mik  heim  meS  ofriSi ;  fletti  hann  J7d  AsbJQrn 
klaeSum,  J7viat  sva  var  J^eirra  mikill  afia  munr,  at  jgtuninn  varS 
einn  at  rdSa  J^eirra  i  milli;  balk  mikinn  sa  Asbjgrn  standa  um 
J^veran  hellinn  ok  stort  gat  a  misjum  balkinum;  jarnsiila  stor 
stoS  nokkut  sva  fyrir  framan  balkinn.  Nii  skal  profa  J?at,  segir 
Briisi,  hvart  )?u  ert  nokkut  harSari  enn  aSrir  menn.  Litit  mun 
J^at  at  reyna,  segir  Asbjgrn.... 

SiSan  let  Asbjgrn  lif  sitt  meS  mikilli  hreysti  ok  dreingskap. 

8.  pat  er  at  segja  at  )7eir  )7rir  menn,  er  undan  komust, 
sottu  knaliga  r65r,  ok  lettu  eigi  fyrr  enn  )7eir  komu  at  landi, 
SQgSu  fau  tiSindi  er  gerzt  hgfSu  i  J^eirra  fgrum,  kvoSust  aetla 
Asbjgrn  dauSan,  en  kunnu  ekki  fra  at  segja,  hversu  at  hefsi 
borizt  um  bans  liflat ;  kvomu  J?eir  ser  i  skip  me5  kaupmgnnum, 
ok  fluttust  svd  su5r  til  Danmerkr;  spurSust  mi  )^essi  tiSindi 
visa,  ok  ]76ttu  mikil.  p4  var  orSit  hgfSingja  skipti  i  Noregi, 
Hakon  jarl  dauSr,  en  6lafr  Tryggvason  i  land  kominn,  ok  bauS 
gllum  retta  trii.     Ormr  Storolfsson  spurSi  lit  til  Islands  um 


188  Extract  from  pdttr  Orms  Stdrdlfssonar 

farar  ok  liflat  Asbjarnar,  er  m^nnum  J^otti  sem  vera  mundi; 
J?6tti  honum  J^at  allmikill  skaSi,  ok  undi  eigi  lengr  a  Island! , 
ok  tok  ser  far  i  ReySarfirSi,  ok  for  )?ar  utan ;  J?eir  kvomu  nor- 
Sarliga  vi?5  Noreg,  ok  sat  hann  um  vetrinn  i  prandheimi ;  )?a 
hafSi  (3lafr  raSit  3  vetr  Noregi.  Um  vorit  bjost  Ormr  at  fara 
til  SauSeya,  J?eir  voru  pvi  naerr  margir  a  skipi,  sem  J?eir  AsbJQrn 
hgfSu  verit;  peiv  IggSu  at  minni  SauSey  si6  um  kveldit,  ok 
tjglduSu  a  landi,  ok  lagu  J?ar  um  nattina.... 

9.  Nu  gengr  Ormr  J^ar  til  er  hann  kemr  at  hellinum,  ser 
hann  nii  bjargit  )?at  stora,  ok  leizt  umatuligt  nokkurum  manni 
}>at  i  brott  at  fsera ;  J?6  dregr  hann  a  sik  glofana  MenglaSarnauta, 
tekr  siSan  a  bjarginu  ok  faerir  pat  hurt  or  dyrunum,  ok  J^ikist 
Ormr  }?4  aflraun  mesta  synt  hafa;  hann  gekk  ]?a  inni  hellinn, 
ok  lagSi  malajarn  i  dyrnar,  en  er  hann  var  inn  kominn,  sa  hann 
hvar  kettan  hljop  met5  gapanda  ginit.  Ormr  hafSi  boga  ok 
grvamseli,  lagSi  hann  pa.  gr  a  streing,  ok  skaut  at  kettunni 
J?remr  grum,  en  hon  hendi  allar  meS  hvoptunum,  ok  beit  i 
sundr,  hefir  hon  sik  J?a  at  Ormi,  ok  rekr  klsernar  framan  i  fangit, 
sva  at  Ormr  kiknar  viS,  en  klaBrnar  gengu  i  gegnum  klseSin  sv4 
at  i  beini  stoS;  hon  aetlar  pa.  at  bita  i  andlit  Ormi,  finnr  hann 
J?a  at  honum  mun  eigi  veita,  heitir  J?a  a  sjdlfan  guS  ok  hinn 
heilaga  Petrum  postula,  at  ganga  til  Roms,  ef  hann  ynni 
kettuna  ok  Briisa,  son  hennar;  siSan  fann  Ormr  at  minkatJist 
afl  kettunnar,  tekr  hann  J?a  annarri  hendi  um  kverkr  henni,  en 
annarri  um  hrygg,  ok  gengr  hana  a  bak,  ok  brytr  isundr  i  henni 
hrygginn,  ok  gengr  sva  af  henni  dauSri.  Ormr  sa  J^a,  hvar 
balkr  storr  var  um  J?veran  hellinn;  hann  gengr  pa,  innar  at, 
en  er  hann  kemr  pa.T,  ser  hann  at  fleinn  mikill  kemr  utar  i  gegnum 
balkinn,  hann  var  baeSi  digr  ok  langr;  Ormr  gripr  }?a  i  moti 
fleininum,  ok  leggr  af  lit;  Briisi  kippir  J?a  at  ser  fleininum  ok 
var  hann  fastr  sva  at  hvergi  gekk;  J?at  undraSist  Briisi,  ok 
gsegdist  upp  yfir  balkinn,  en  er  Ormr  s6r  J^at,  J?rifr  hann  i 
skeggit  a  Briisa  baSum  hgndum,  en  Brusi  bregzt  viS  i  gSrum 
staS,  sviptast  )?eir  J^a  fast  um  balkinn.  Ormr  hafSi  vafit  skeg- 
ginu  um  hgnd  ser,  ok  rykkir  til  sva  fast,  at  hann  rifr  af  Briisa 
allan  skeggstaSinn,  hgkuna,  kjaptana  baSa,  vangafyllurnar  upp 
alt  at  eyrum,  gekk  her  meS  holdit  niSr  at  beini.     Briisi  let  J?a 


Death  of  Bnisi  189 

siga  brynnar,  ok  grettist  heldr  greppiliga.  Ormr  stgkkr  J?a 
innar  yfir  bdlkinn,  gripast  peiv  )?a  til  ok  glima  lengi,  maeddi 
Briisa  J?a  fast  bloSras,  tekr  hann  J?a  heldr  at  gangast  fyrir,  gefr 
Ormr  J?d  a,  ok  rekr  Briisa  at  balkiniun  ok  brytr  hann  J?ar  um 
a  bak  aptr.  Snemma  sagSi  mer  J?at  hugr,  sagSi  Briisi,  at  ek 
munda  af  J^er  nokkut  erfitt  fa,  J?egar  ek  heyrSa  pin  getit,  enda 
er  }?at  nii  fram  komit,  muntu  nii  vinna  skjott  um,  ok  hgggva 
hgfuS  af  mer,  en  }?at  var  satt,  at  mjgk  pinda  ek  Asbjgrn  priiSa, 
pa>  er  ek  rakta  or  honum  alia  }?armana,  ok  gaf  hann  sik  ekki 
vis,  fyrrenn  hann  do.  Ilia  gerSir  )7u  J^at,  segir  Ormr,  at  pin  a 
hann  sva  mjgk  jafnrgskvan  mann,  skaltu  ok  hafa  J?ess  nokkurar 
menjar.  Hann  bra  J^a  saxi  ok  reist  bloSgrn  a  baki  honum,  ok 
skar  q11  rifin  fra  hryggnum,  ok  dro  ]?ar  lit  liingun;  let  Briisi 
sva  lif  sitt  meS  litlum  dreingskap;  siSan  bar  Ormr  eld  at,  ok 
brendi  upp  til  gsku  baeSi  Briisa  ok  kettuna,  ok  er  hann  hafsi 
J?etta  starfat,  for  hann  hurt  or  hellinum  meS  kistur  tvaer  fullar 
af  gulli  ok  silfri,  en  J?at  sem  meira  var  femaett,  gaf  hann  i  vald 
MenglaSar,  ok  sva  eyna;  skildu  J^au  meS  mikilli  vinattu,  kom 
Ormr  til  manna  sinna  i  nefndan  tima,  heldu  siSan  til  meginlands. 
Sat  Ormr  i  prandheimi  vetr  annan. 

Tkanslation  of  Extract  from  ]?attr  Orms  Storolfssonar 


A  little  after  Orm  and  Asbiorn  had  parted,  Asbiorn  wished 
to  go  north  to  Sandeyar^;  he  went  aboard  with  twenty-four 
men,  went  north  past  Mseri,  and  landed  late  in  the  day  at  the 
outermost  of  the  Sandeyar^.  They  landed  and  pitched  a  tent, 
and  spent  the  night  there,  and  met  with  nothing. 

Early  in  the  morning  Asbiorn  arose,  clothed  himself,  took 
his  arms,  went  inland,  and  bade  his  men  wait  for  him. 

But  when  some  time  had  passed  from  Asbiorn's  having  gone 
away,  they  were  aware  that  a  monstrous  ^  cat  had  come  to  the 

1  The  MSS  have  either  Sandeyar  or  Saudeyar  {Sauffeyar).  But  that  Sand- 
eyar  is  the  correct  form  ia  shown  by  the  name  Sand0,  which  is  given  still  to  the 
island  of  Dollsey,  where  Orm's  fight  is  localized  (Panzer,  403). 

2  Literally  "she-cat,"  ketta;  but  the  word  may  mean  "giantess."  It  is  used 
in  some  Mss  of  the  Qrettis  saga  of  the  giantess  who  attacks  Grettir  at  Sand- 
haugar. 


190  Extract  from  pdttr  Orms  Stdrdlfssonar 

door  of  the  tent :  she  was  coal-black  in  colour  and  very  fierce, 
for  it  seemed  as  if  fire  was  burning  from  her  nostrils  and  mouth, 
and  her  eyes  were  nothing  fair:  they  were  much  startled  at 
this  sight,  and  full  of  fear.  Then  the  cat  leapt  within  the  tent 
upon  them,  and  gripped  one  after  the  other,  and  so  it  is  said 
that  some  she  swallowed  and  some  she  tore  to  death  with  claws 
and  teeth.  Twenty  men  she  killed  in  a  short  time,  and  three 
escaped  aboard  ship,  and  stood  away  from  the  shore. 

But  Asbiorn  went  till  he  came  to  the  cave  of  Brusi,  and 
hastened  in  forthwith.  It  was  dim  before  his  eyes,  and  very 
shadowy  in  the  cave,  and  before  he  was  aware  of  it,  he  was 
caught  off  his  feet,  and  thrown  down  so  violently  that  it  seemed 
strange  to  him.  Then  was  he  aware  that  there  was  come  the 
giant  Brusi,  and  he  seemed  to  him  a  great  one. 

Then  said  Brusi,  "  Thou  didst  seek  with  great  eagerness  to 
come  hither — now  shalt  thou  have  business,  in  that  thou  shalt 
here  leave  thy  Ufe  with  so  great  torments  that  that  shall  stay 
others  from  attacking  me  in  my  lair." 

Then  he  stripped  Asbiorn  of  his  clothes,  forasmuch  as  so 

great  was  their  difference  in  strength  that  the  giant  could  do 

as   he  wished.     Asbiorn  saw  a  great  barrier  standing  across 

the  cave,  and  a  mighty  opening  in  the  midst  of  it;  a  great 

iron  column  stood  somewhat  in  front  of  the  barrier.    "Now  it 

must  be  tried,"  said  Brusi,  "whether  thou  art  somewhat  hardier 

than  other  men."  "Little  will  that  be  to  test,"  said  Asbiorn.... 

[Asbiorn  then  recites  ten  stanzas,   Brusi  tormenting 

him  the  while.     The  first  stanza  is  almost  identical  with 

No.  50  in  the  Grettis  saga.] 

Then  Asbiorn  left  his  life  with  great  valour  and  hardihood. 


Now  it  must  be  told  concerning  the  three  men  who  escaped ; 
they  rowed  strongly,  and  stopped  not  until  they  came  to  land. 
They  told  the  tidings  of  what  had  happened  in  their  journey, 
and  said  that  they  thought  that  Asbiorn  was  dead,  but  that 
they  could  not  tell  how  matters  had  happened  concerning  his 
death.     They  took  ship  with  merchants,  and  so  went  south  to 


Orm  attacks  Brusi  191 

Denmark:  now  these  tidings  were  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
seemed  weighty. 

There  had  been  a  change  of  rulers  in  Norway:  jarl  Hakon 
was  dead,  and  Olaf  Tryggvason  come  to  land :  and  he  proclaimed 
the  true  faith  to  all.  Orm  Storolfson  heard,  out  in  Iceland,  about 
the  expedition  of  Asbiorn,  and  the  death  which  it  seemed  to 
men  must  have  come  upon  him.  It  seemed  to  him  a  great  loss, 
and  he  cared  no  longer  to  be  in  Iceland,  and  took  passage  at 
Reytharfirth  and  went  abroad.  They  reached  Norway  far  to 
the  north,  and  he  stayed  the  winter  at  Thrandheim :  Olaf  at 
that  time  had  reigned  three  years  in  Norway. 

In  the  spring  Orm  made  ready  for  his  journey  to  Sandeyar, 
and  there  were  nearly  as  many  in  the  ship  as  the  company  of 
Asbiorn  had  been. 

They  landed  at  Little  Sandey  late  in  the  evening,  and 
pitched  a  tent  on  the  land,  and  lay  there  the  night.... 

9. 

Now  Orm  went  till  he  came  to  the  cave.  He  saw  the  great 
rock,  and  thought  it  was  impossible  for  any  man  to  move  it. 
Then  he  drew  on  the  gloves  that  Menglath  had  given  him,  and 
grasped  the  rock  and  moved  it  away  from  the  door;  this  is 
reckoned  Orm's  great  feat  of  strength.  Then  he  went  into  the 
cave,  and  thrust  his  weapon  against  the  door.  When  he  came 
in,  he  saw  a  giantess  (she-cat)  springing  towards  him  with  gaping 
jaws.  Orm  had  a  bow  and  quiver;  he  put  the  arrow  on  the  string, 
and  shot  thrice  at  the  giantess.  But  she  seized  all  the  arrows  in 
her  mouth,  and  bit  them  asunder.  Then  she  flung  herself  upon 
Orm,  and  thrust  her  claws  into  his  breast,  so  that  Orm  stumbled, 
and  her  claws  went  through  his  clothes  and  pierced  him  to  the 
bone.  She  tried  then  to  bite  his  face,  and  Orm  found  himself 
in  straits :  he  promised  then  to  God,  and  the  holy  apostle  Peter, 
to  go  to  Rome,  if  he  conquered  the  giantess  and  Brusi  her  son. 
Then  Orm  felt  the  power  of  the  giantess  diminishing :  he  placed 
one  hand  round  her  throat,  and  the  other  round  her  back,  and 
bent  it  till  he  broke  it  in  two,  and  so  left  her  dead. 

Then  Orm  saw  where  a  great  barrier  ran  across  the  cave :  he 
went  further  in,  and  when  he  came  to  it  he  saw  a  great  shaft 


192    A  Danish  Dragon-slaying  of  the  Beowulf-type 

coming  out  through  the  barrier,  both  long  and  thick.  Orm 
gripped  the  shaft  and  drew  it  away;  Brusi  pulled  it  towards 
himself,  but  it  did  not  yield.  Then  Brusi  wondered,  and  peeped 
up  over  the  barrier.  But  when  Orm  saw  that,  he  gripped  Brusi 
by  the  beard  with  both  hands,  but  Brusi  pulled  away,  and  so 
they  tugged  across  the  barrier.  Orm  twisted  the  beard  round 
his  hand,  and  tugged  so  violently  that  he  pulled  the  flesh  of 
Brusi  away  from  the  bone — from  chin,  jaws,  cheeks,  right  up  to 
the  ears.  Brusi  knitted  his  brows  and  made  a  hideous  face. 
Then  Orm  leapt  in  over  the  barrier,  and  they  grappled  and 
wrestled  for  a  long  time.  But  loss  of  blood  wearied  Brusi,  and 
he  began  to  fail  in  strength.  Orm  pressed  on,  pushed  Brusi  to 
the  barrier,  and  broke  his  back  across  it.  "  Right  early  did  my 
mind  misgive  me,"  said  Brusi,  "even  so  soon  as  I  heard  of  thee, 
that  I  should  have  trouble  from  thee :  and  now  has  that  come  to 
pass.  But  now  make  quick  work,  and  hew  off  my  head.  And 
true  it  is  that  much  did  I  torture  the  gallant  Asbiorn,  in  that 
I  tore  out  all  his  entrails — yet  did  he  not  give  in,  before  he  died." 
"Ill  didst  thou  do,"  said  Orm,  "to  torture  him,  so  fine  a  man  as 
he  was,  and  thou  shalt  have  something  in  memory  thereof." 
Then  he  drew  his  knife,  and  cut  the  "  blood  eagle "  in  the  back 
of  Brusi,  shore  off  his  ribs  and  drew  out  his  lungs.  So  Brusi  died 
in  cowardly  wise.  Then  Orm  took  fire,  and  burned  to  ashes  both 
Brusi  and  the  giantess.  And  when  he  had  done  that,  he  left  the 
cave,  with  two  chests  full  of  gold  and  silver. 

And  all  that  was  most  of  value  he  gave  to  Menglath,  and  the 
island  likewise.  So  they  parted  with  great  friendship,  and  Orm 
came  to  his  men  at  the  time  appointed,  and  then  they  sailed  to 
the  mainland.  Orm  remained  a  second  winter  at  Thrandheim. 

F.    A  Danish  Dkagon- slaying  of  the  Beowulf- type 

Paa  den  Tid,  da  kong  Gram  Guldk^lve  regierede  i  Leire,  vara 
der  ved  Hoffet  to  Ministre,  Bessus  og  Henrik.  Og  da  der  paa 
samme  Tid  indkom  idelige  klager  fra  Indbyggerne  i  Vendsyssel, 
at  et  grueligt  Udyr,  som  B0nderne  kaldte  Lindorm,  ^delagde 
baade  Mennesker  og  Kreaturer,  gav  Bessus  det  Raad,  at  Kongen 
skulde  sende  Henrik  did  hen,  efterdi  ingen  i  det  ganske  Bige 
kunde  maale  sig  med  ham  in  Tapperhed  og  Mod.    Da  svarede 


A  Banish  Dragon-slaying  of  the  Beowulf-type      193 

Henrik,  at  ban  vel  vilde  paatage  sig  dette,  dog  tilf0iede  ban, 
at  ban  ansaae  det  for  umuligt  at  slippe  fra  saadan  Kamp  med 
Livet.  Og  belavede  ban  sig  da  strax  til  Reisen,  tog  r0rende 
Afsked  med  sin  Herre  og  Konge  og  sagde  iblandt  andet :  "  Herre ! 
om  jeg  ikke  kommer  tilbage,  da  s0rg  for  min  kone  og  for  mine 
B^rn ! "  Da  ban  derefter  var  kommen  over  til  Vendsyssel,  lod 
ban  sig  af  B^nderne  vise  det  Sted,  bvor  Ubyret  bavde  sit  Leie, 
og  fik  da  at  vide,  at  Ormen  endnu  den  samme  Dag  bavde  vseret 
ude  af  Hulen  og  borttaget  en  Hyrde  og  en  Oxe,  og  at  den  efter 
Saedvane  nu  ikke  vilde  komme  ud,  f^rend  om  tre  Timer,  naar 
den  skulde  ned  til  Vandet  for  at  drikke  efter  Maaltidet.  Henrik 
if^rte  sig  da  sin  fulde  Rustning,  og  eftersom  Ingen  vovede  at 
staae  bam  bi  i  dette  Arbeide,  lagde  ban  sig  ganske  alene  ved 
Vandet,  dog  saaledes,  at  Vinden  ikke  bar  fra  bam  benimod 
Dyret.  Da  udsendte  ban  f^rst  en  vseldig  Piil  fra  sin  Bue,  men 
uagtet  den  rammede  n0ie  det  sted,  bvortil  ban  bavde  sigtet, 
t^rnede  den  dog  tilbage  fra  Ormens  baarde  Skael.  Herover  blev 
Ubyret  saa  optsendt  af  Vrede,  at  det  strax  gik  benimod  bam, 
agtende  bam  kun  et  ringe  Maaltid ;  men  Henrik  bavde  if orveien 
bos  en  Smed  ladet  sig  gij2^re  en  stor  Krog  med  Gjenbold,  bvilken 
ban  jog  ind  i  Beestets  aabne  Gab,  saa  at  det  ikke  kunde  blive 
den  qvit,  ibvormeget  det  end  arbeidede,  og  ibvorvel  Jern- 
stangen  brast  i  Henriks  Hsender.  Da  slog  det  bam  med  sin 
vaeldige  Hale  til  Jorden,  og  ski^ndt  ban  bavde  fuldkommen 
Jernrustning  paa,  kradsede  det  dog  med  sine  forfserdelige  Kl^er 
saa  at  ban,  naesten  d^deligt  saaret,  faldt  i  Besvimelse.  Men 
da  ban,  efterat  Ormen  i  nogen  Tid  bavde  baft  bam  liggende 
under  sin  Bug,  endelig  kom  lidt  til  sin  Samling  igien,  greb  ban 
af  yderste  Evne  en  Daggert,  af  bvilke  ban  f^rte  flere  med  sig 
i  sit  Bselte,  og  stak  Dyret  dermed  i  underlivet,  bvor  Skaellene 
vare  bl^dest,  saa  at  det  tilsidst  maate  udpuste  sin  giftige  Aande, 
medens  ban  selv  laae  balv  knust  under  dens  Byrde.  Da 
B0nderne  i  Vendsyssel  som  stode  i  nogen  Afstand,  under  megen 
Frygt  og  lidet  Haab  omsider  maerkede,  at  Striden  sagtnede,  og 
at  begge  Barter  boldte  sig  rolige,  naermede  de  sig  og  fandt  Hr. 
Henrik  naesten  livl^s  under  det  drsebte  Udyr.  Og  efterat  de 
i  nogen  Tid  bavde  givet  bam  god  Pleie,  vendte  ban  tilbage  for 
at  d0  bos  sin  Konge,  til  bvem  ban  gientagende  anbefalede  sin 

0.  B.  13 


194    A  Danish  Dragon-slaying  of  the  Beowulf-type 

Slsegt.     Fra  ham  nedstammer  Familien  Lindenroth,   som  til 
Minde  om  denne  vseldige  Strid  f^rer  en  Lindorm  i  sit  Vaaben. 

MS  222.  4°.  Stamme  och  Slectebog  over  den  h^iadelige 
Familie  af  Lindenroth,  in  Danmarks  Folkesagn,  samlede  af 
J.  M.  Thiele,  1843,  i,  125-7. 

A  DANISH  DRAGON- SLAYING  OF  THE  BEOWULF-TYPE. 

Translation. 

In  the  days  when  King  Gram  Guldk^lve  ruled  in  Leire, 
there  were  two  ministers  at  court,  Bessus  and  Henry.  And  at 
that  time  constant  complaints  came  to  the  court  from  the  in- 
habitants of  Vendsyssel,  that  a  dread  monster,  which  the  peasants 
called  a  Drake,  was  destroying  both  man  and  beast.  So  Bessus 
gave  counsel,  that  the  king  should  send  Henry  against  the 
dragon,  seeing  that  no  one  in  the  whole  kingdom  was  his  equal 
in  valour  and  courage.  Henry  answered  that  assuredly  he  would 
undertake  it;  but  he  added  that  he  thought  it  impossible  to 
escape  from  such  a  struggle  with  his  life.  And  he  made  himself 
ready  forthwith  for  the  expedition,  took  a  touching  farewell 
of  his  lord  and  king,  and  said  among  other  things:  "My  lord, 
if  I  come  not  back,  care  thou  for  my  wife  and  my  children." 

Afterwards,  when  he  crossed  over  to  Vendsyssel,  he  caused 
the  peasants  to  show  him  the  place  where  the  monster  had  its 
lair,  and  learnt  how  that  very  day  the  drake  had  been  out  of 
its  den,  and  had  carried  off  a  herdsman  and  an  ox;  how,  ac- 
cording to  its  wont,  it  would  now  not  come  out  for  three  hours, 
when  it  would  want  to  go  down  to  the  water  to  drink  after  its 
meal.  Henry  clothed  himself  in  full  armour,  and  inasmuch  as 
no  one  dared  to  stand  by  him  in  that  task,  he  lay  down  all  alone 
by  the  water,  but  in  such  wise  that  the  wind  did  not  blow  from 
him  toward  the  monster.  First  of  all  he  sent  a  mighty  arrow 
from  his  bow:  but,  although  it  exactly  hit  the  spot  at  which 
he  had  aimed,  it  darted  back  from  the  dragon's  hard  scales. 
At  this  the  monster  was  so  maddened,  that  it  attacked  him 
forthwith,  reckoning  him  but  a  little  meal.  But  Henry  had 
had  a  mighty  barbed  crook  prepared  by  a  smith  beforehand, 
which  he  thrust  into  the  beast's  open  mouth,  so  that  it  could 


The  Old  Eitglish  Genealogies  195 

not  get  rid  of  it,  however  much  it  strove,  although  the  iron  rod 
broke  in  Henry's  hands.  Then  it  smote  him  to  the  ground  with 
its  mighty  tail,  and  although  he  was  in  complete  armour, 
clutched  at  him  with  its  dread  claws,  so  that  he  fell  in  a  swoon, 
wounded  almost  to  death.  But  when  he  came  somewhat  to  his 
senses  again,  after  the  drake  for  some  time  had  had  him  lying 
under  its  belly,  he  rallied  his  last  strength  and  grasped  a  dagger,  of 
which  he  carried  several  with  him  in  his  belt,  and  smote  it  there- 
with in  the  belly,  where  the  scales  were  weakest.  So  the  monster 
at  last  breathed  out  its  poisoned  breath,  whilst  he  himself  lay 
half  crushed  under  its  weight.  When  the  Vendsyssel  peasants, 
who  stood  some  distance  away,  in  great  fear  and  little  hope, 
at  last  noticed  that  the  battle  had  slackened,  and  that  both 
combatants  were  still,  they  drew  near  and  found  Henry  almost 
lifeless  under  the  slain  monster.  And  after  they  for  some  time 
had  tended  him  well,  he  returned  to  die  by  his  king,  to  whom 
he  again  commended  his  offspring.  From  him  descends  the 
family  Lindenroth,  which  in  memory  of  this  mighty  contest 
carries  a  drake  on  its  coat  of  arms. 

This  story  resembles  the  dragon  fight  in  Beowulf,  in  that  the  hero  faces 
the  dragon  as  protector  of  the  land,  with  forebodings,  and  after  taking 
farewell;  he  attacks  the  dragon  in  its  lair,  single-handed;  his  first  attack 
is  frustrated  by  the  dragon's  scales;  in  spite  of  apparatus  specially  pre- 
pared, he  is  wounded  and  stunned  by  the  dragon,  but  nevertheless  smites 
the  dragon  in  the  soft  parts  and  slays  him;  the  watchers  draw  near  when 
the  fight  is  over.  Yet  these  things  merely  prove  that  the  two  stories  are 
of  the  same  type;  there  is  no  evidence  that  this  story  is  descended  from 
Beowulf. 

G.    The  Old  English  Genealogies. 
I.    TEE  MERCIAN  GENEALOGY. 

Of  the  Old  English  Genealogies,  the  only  one  which,  in  its 
stages  helow  Woden,  immediately  concerns  the  student  of 
Beowulf  is  the  Mercian.  This  contains  three  names  which  also 
occur  in  Beowulf,  though  two  of  them  in  a  corrupt  form — Offa, 
Wermund  (Garmund,  Beowulf),  and  Eoma3r  (Geomor,  Beowulf). 

This  Mercian  pedigree  is  found  in  its  best  form  in  MS  Cotton 
Vesp.  B.  VI,  fol.  109  6,^  and  in  the  sister  ms  at  Corpus  Christi 
College,   Cambridge   {C.C.C.C.  183)2.     Both  these  mss  are  of 

1  See  Sweet,  Oldest  English  Texts,  1885,  p.  170. 

2  See  Catalogue  of  MSS.  in  the  Library  of  Corpus  Christi  CoUege,  Cambridge 
by  Montague  Rhodes  James,  Camb.,  1912,  p.  437. 

13—2 


196  The  Old  English  Genealogies 

the  9th  century.  They  contain  lists  of  popes  and  bishops, 
and  pedigrees  of  kings.  By  noting  where  these  lists  stop,  we 
get  a  limit  for  the  final  compilation  of  the  document.  It  must 
have  been  drawn  up  in  its  present  form  between  811  and  814^. 
But  it  was  obviously  compiled  from  lists  already  existing,  and 
some  of  them  were  even  at  that  date  old.  For  the  genealogy 
of  the  Mercian  kings,  from  Woden,  is  not  traced  directly  down 
to  this  period  811-814,  but  in  the  first  place  only  as  far  as 
iEthelred  (reigning  675-704),  son  of  Penda:  that  is  to  say, 
it  stops  considerably  more  than  a  century  before  the  date  of 
the  document  in  which  it  appears.  Additional  pedigrees  are 
then  appended  which  show  the  subsequent  stages  down  to  and 
including  Cenwulf,  king  of  Mercia  (reigning  796-821).  It  is 
difl&cult  to  account  for  such  an  arrangement  except  on  the 
hypothesis  that  the  genealogy  was  committed  to  writing  in  the 
reign  of  iEthelred,  the  monarch  with  whose  name  it  terminates 
in  its  first  form,  and  was  then  brought  up  to  date  by  the 
addition  of  the  supplementary  names  ending  with  Cenwulf. 
This  is  confirmed  when  we  find  that  precisely  the  same  arrange- 
ment holds  good  for  the  accompanying  Northumbrian  pedigree, 
which  terminates  with  Ecgfrith  (670-685),  the  contemporary 
of  -^thelred  of  Mercia,  and  is  then  brought  up  to  date  by 
additional  names. 

Genealogies  which  draw  from  the  same  source  as  the  Ves- 
pasian genealogies,  and  show  the  same  peculiarities,  are  found 
in  the  Historia  Brittonum  (§§  57-61).  They  show,  even  more 
emphatically  than  do  the  Vespasian  lists,  traces  of  having  been 
originally  drawn  up  in  the  time  of  -^Ethelred  of  Mercia  (675-704) 
or  possibly  of  his  father  Penda,  and  of  having  then  been  brought 
up  to  date  in  subsequent  revisions  2. 

One  such  revision  must  have  been  made  about  796  ^i  it  is  a 

^  See  Publications  of  the  Palseographical  Society,  1880,  where  a  facsimile  of 
part  of  the  Vespasian  MS  is  given.  (Pt.  10,  Plate  165:  subsequently  Ser.  i. 
Vol.  II.) 

2  So  Zimmer,  Nennius  Vindicatus,  Berlin,  1893,  pp.  78  etc.,  and  Duchesne 
{Remie  Celtique,  xv,  196).  Duchesne  sums  up  these  genealogies  as  "un  recueil 
constitue,  vers  la  fin  du  vn«  siecle,  dans  le  royaume  de  Strathcluyd,  mais  com- 
plete par  di verses  retouches,  dont  la  demiere  est  de  796." 

^  This  is  shown  by  one  of  the  supplementary  Mercian  pedigrees  being  made 
to  end,  both  in  the  Vespasian  genealogy  and  the  Historia  Brittonum,  in  Ecgfrith, 
who  reigned  for  a  few  months  in  796.     See  Thurneysen  {Z.f.d.Pk.  xxviii,  101). 


The  Mercian  Genealogy 


197 


modification  of  this  revision  which  is  found  in  the  Historia 
Brittonum.  Another  was  that  which,  as  we  have  seen,  must 
have  been  made  between  811-814,  and  in  this  form  is  found  in 
MS  Cotton  Vespasian  B.  VI,  MS  C.C.C.C.  183,  both  of  the  9th 
century,  and  in  the  (much  later)  MS  Cotton  Tiberius  B.  V. 

The  genealogy  up  to  Penda  is  also  found  in  the  A.-S.  Chronicle 
under  the  year  626  (accession  of  Penda). 

This  Mercian  list,  together  with  the  Northumbrian  and  other 
pedigrees  which  accompany  it,  can  claim  to  be  the  earliest  extant 
English  historical  document,  having  been  written  down  in  the 
7th  century,  and  recording  historic  names  which  (allowing 
thirty  years  for  a  generation)  cannot  be  later  than  the  4th 
century  a.d.  In  most  similar  pedigrees  the  earliest  names  are 
meaningless  to  us.  But  the  Mercian  pedigree  differs  from  the  rest, 
in  that  we  are  able  from  Beowulf,  Widsith,  Saxo  Grammaticus, 
Sweyn  Aageson  and  the  Vitae  Off  arum,  to  attach  stories  to  the 
names  of  Wermund  and  Off  a.  How  much  of  these  stories  is 
history,  and  how  much  fiction,  it  is  difficult  to  say — but,  with 
them,  extant  English  history  and  English  poetry  and  English 
fiction  alike  have  their  beginning. 


MS  Cotton 

Vesp.  B.  VI. 

MS  C.C.C.C.  183. 

AeSilred 

Peding 

.EtSebed 

Pending 

Penda 

Pypbing 

Penda 

Pybbing 

Pypba 

Crioding 

Pybba 

Creoding 

Crioda 

Cynewalding 

Creoda 

Cynewalding 

Cynewald 

Cnebbing 

Cynewald 

Cnebbing 

Cnebba 

Icling 

Cnebba 

Icling 

Icil 

Eamering 

Icel 

Eomsering 

Earner 

Angengeoting 

Eomser 

Angengeoting 

Angengeot 

Offing 

Angengiot 

Offing 

Offa 

Uaermunding 

-OfEa 

Waermunding 

Uermund 

Uihtlaeging 

^Wsermund 

Wihtlaeging 

Uihtlaeg 

WiotSulgeoting 

Wihtlaeg 

Wio]>olgeoting 

WeotJulgeot 

Wodning 

WeoJ>olgiot 

Wodning 

Woden 

Frealafing 

Woden 

Frealafing 

198 


The  Old  English  Genealogies 


Historia  Brittonum^, 
MS  Harl  3859. 

Penda 
Pubba 


Earner 

Ongen 

Offa 

Guerdmund 

Guithleg 

Gueagon 

Guedolgeat 

[U]Uoden 


Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 
MSS  Cotton  Tib.  A.  VI.  and  B.  I.^ 


Penda 

Pybbing 

Pybba 

Creoding 

Creoda 

Cynewalding 

Cynewald 

Cnebbing 

Cnebba 

Iceling 

Icel 

Eomaering 

Eomaer 

Angeljjeowing 

AiigelJ)eow 

Offing 

Offa 

Waermunding 

Waermund 

Wihtlseging 

Wihtlseg 

Wodening 

II.    THE  STAGES  ABOVE  WODEN, 
(!)     WODEN  TO  GEAT. 

The  stages  above  Woden  are  found  in  two  forms:  a  short 
list  which  traces  the  line  from  Woden  up  to  Geat :  and  a  longer 
list  which  carries  the  line  from  Geat  to  Sceaf  and  through  Noah 
to  Adam. 

The  line  from  Woden  to  Geat  is  found  in  the  Historia 
Brittonum,  not  with  the  other  genealogies,  but  in  §  31,  where 
the  pedigree  of  the  Kentish  royal  family  is  given,  when  the 
arrival  of  Hengest  in  Britain  is  recounted.  Notwithstanding 
the  dispute  regarding  the  origin  and  date  of  the  Historia  Brit- 
tonum, there  is  a  pretty  general  agreement  that  this  Woden  to 
Geat  pedigree  is  one  of  the  more  primitive  elements,  and  is  not 
likely  to  be  much  later  than  the  end  of  the  7th  century^.  The 
original  nucleus   of  the  Historia  Brittonum  was   revised   by 


1  Ed.  Mommsen,  p.  203. 

2  Anno  626:  a  similar  genealogy  will  be  found  in  these  MSS  and  in  the 
Parker  MS,  anno  755  (accession  of  Offa  II). 

3  Zimmer  {Nennius  Vindicatus,  p.  84)  argues  that  this  Geta-Woden  pedi- 
gree belongs  to  a  portion  of  the  Historia  Brittonum  written  down  a.d.  685  . 
Thumeysen  {Z.f.d.Ph.  xxviii,  103-4)  dates  the  section  in  which  it  occurs 
679;  Duchesne  {Revue  Celtique,  xv,  196)  places  it  more  vaguely  between  the 
end  of  the  sixth  and  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century;  van  Hamel  {Hoops 
Reallexikon  s.v.  Nennius)  between  much  the  same  limits,  and  clearly  before  705. 


Hie  Stages  above  Woden 


199 


Nennius  in  the  9th  century,  or  possibly  at  the  end  of  the  Sth^. 
The  earliest  MS  of  the  Historia,  that  of  Chartres,  belongs  to 
the  9th  or  10th  century — this  is  fragmentary  and  already  inter- 
polated ;  the  received  text  is  based  upon  MS  Harleian  3859, 
dating  from  the  end  of  the  11th  century 2,  or  possibly  somewhat 
later. 

I  give  the  pedigree  in  four  forms: 

A.  The  critical  text  of  the  Historia  Brittonum  as  edited  by 
Th.  Mommsen  (Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica,  Auct.  Antiq., 
Chronica  Minora,  iii,  Berolini,  1898,  p.  171). 

B.  MS  Harl.  3859,  upon  which  Mommsen' s  text  is  based, 
fol.  180. 

C.  The  Chartres  MS. 

D.  Mommsen's  critical  text  of  the  later  revision,  Nennius 
interpretatus,  which  he  gives  parallel  to  the  Historia  Brittonum, 


Hors  et  Hengist 

Hors  &  Hengist 

Cors  et  Haecgens 

Hors  et  Hengist 

filii  Guictgils 

filii  Guictgils 

filii  Guictils 

filii  Guictgils 

Guigta 

Guitta 

Guicta 

Guigta 

Guectha 

Guectha 

Gueta 

Guectha 

Woden 

Woden 

Woden 

Voden 

Frealaf 

Frealaf 

Frelab 

Frealaf 

Fredulf 

Fredulf 

Freudulf 

Fredolf 

Finn 

Finn 

Fran 

Finn 
Frenn 

Fodepald 

Fodepald 

Folcpald 

Folcvald 

Geta 

Geta 

G[e]uta 

Gaeta 

qui  f  uit,  ut  aiunt. 

qui  f  uit,  ut  aiunt, 

qui  sunt  [sic],  ut 

Vanli 

filius  del 

fiKus  dei 

aiunt,  filius  dei 

Saxi 
Negua 

MS  Cotton  Vespasian  B.  VI  (9th  century)  contains  a  number 
of  Anglo-Saxon  genealogies  and  other  lists  revised  up  to  the 
period  811-14^.  The  genealogy  of  the  kings  of  Lindsey  in  this 
list  has  the  stages  from  Woden  to  Geat.  This  genealogy  is  also 
found  in  the  sister  list  in  the  9th  century  MS  at  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge  {MS  C.C.C.C.  183). 

1  Zimmer  (p.  275)  says  a.d.  796;  Duchesne  (p.  196)  a.d.  800;  Thurneysen 
{Zeitschr.  /.  Celtische  Phtlologie,  i,  166)  a.d.  826;  Skene  {Four  Ancient  Books  of 
Wales,  1868,  i,  38)  a.d.  858;  van  Hamel  (p.  304)  a.d.  820-859.  See  also  Chad- 
wick,  Origin,  38. 

2  Bradshaw,  Investigations  among  Early  Welsh,  Breton  and  Cornish  MS8. 
in  Collected  Papers,  466.  »  See  above,  p.  196. 


200  The  Old  English  Genealogies 

A  similar  list  is  to  be  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle 
(entered  under  the  year  547).  But  there  it  is  appended  to  the 
genealogy  of  the  Northumbrian  kings.  This  genealogy  has  been 
erased  in  the  oldest  MS  (Parker,  end  of  the  9th  century)  to 
make  room  for  later  additions,  but  is  found  in  MSS  Cotton 
Tiberius  A,  VI  and  B.  I. 

Cotton  {Vespasian)  MS.  Corpus  MS.  A. -S.  Chronicle 

UUoden  Frealafing  Woden  Frealafing  Woden  Freo>olafing 

Frealaf  FriotSulfing  Frealaf  Frio^owulsing  {sic)  Freo)>elaf  Freo)>ulfing 

FrioSulf  Finning  FreoJ>owulf  Godwulfing  Frijjulf  Finning 

Finn  Goduulfing  Finn  Godulfing 

Godulf  Geoting  Godwulf  Geating  Godulf  Geating 

The  Fodepald  or  Folcfold  who,  in  the  Historia  Brittonum, 
appears  as  the  father  of  Finn,  is  clearly  the  Folcwalda  who 
appears  as  Finn's  father  in  Beowulf  and  Widsith.  The  Old 
English  w  (p)  has  been  mistaken  for  p,  just  as  in  Pinefred  for 
Winefred  in  the  Life  of  Off  a  II.  In  the  Vespasian  MS  and  in 
other  genealogies  Godwulf  is  Finn's  father.  It  has  been  very 
generally  held  that  Finn  and  his  father  Godwulf  are  mythical 
heroes,  quite  distinct  from  the  presumably  historic  Finn,  son 
of  Folcwalda,  mentioned  in  Beowulf  and  Widsith :  and  that  by 
confusion  Folcwald  came  to  be  written  instead  of  Godwulf  in  the 
genealogy,  as  given  in  the  Historia  Brittonum.  I  doubt  whether 
there  is  suflScient  justification  for  this  distinction  between  a  pre- 
sumed historic  Finn  Folcwalding  and  a  mythical  Finn  Godwulfing. 
Is  it  not  possible  that  Godwulf  was  a  traditional,  probably  historic, 
king  of  the  Frisians,  father  of  Finn,  and  that  Folcwalda^  was  a 
title  which,  since  it  alliterated  conveniently,  in  the  end  supplanted 
the  proper  name  in  epic  poetry? 

III.     THE  STAGES  ABOVE  WODEN. 

(2)     WODEN  TO  SCEAF. 

The  stages  above  Geat  are  found  in  the  genealogy  of  the 
West- Saxon  kings  only 2.     This  is  recorded  in  the  Chronicle 

1  Cf.  Bretwalda. 

2  The  genealogies  have  recently  been  dealt  with  by  E.  Hackenberg,  Die 
Stammtafeln  der  angelsdchsischen  Konigreiche,  Berlin,  1918;  and  by  Brandl, 
(Herrig's  Archiv,  cxxxvii,  1-24).  Most  of  Brandl' s  derivations  seem  to  me  to 
depend  upon  very  perilous  conjectures.  Thus  he  derives  Scefing  from  the  Gr.-Lat. 
scapha,  "a  skiff" :  a  word  which  was  not  adopted  into  Old  English.  This 
seems  to  be  sacrificing  all  probability  to  the  desire  to  find  a  new  interpretation : 


Extract  from  the  Chronicle  Roll  201 

under  the  year  855  (notice  concerning  ^Ethelwulf)  and  it  was 
probably  drawn  up  at  the  court  of  that  king.  Though  it  doubt- 
less contains  ancient  names,  it  is  apparently  not  so  ancient  as 
the  Woden-Geat  list.  It  became  very  well  known,  and  is  also 
found  in  Asser  and  the  Textus  Roffensis.  It  was  copied  by  later 
historians  such  as  William  of  Malmesbury,  and  by  the  Icelandic 
genealogists^. 

The  principal  versions  of  this  pedigree  are  given  in  tabular 
form  below  (pp.  202-3) ;  omitting  the  merely  second-hand  re- 
productions, such  as  those  of  Florence  of  Worcester. 

H.  EXTEACT  PROM  THE  CHRONICLE  ROLL. 

This  roll  was  drawn  up  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI,  and  its 
compiler  must  have  had  access  to  a  document  now  lost. 

There  are  many  copies  of  the  roll  extant — the  "Moseley" 
Roll  at  University  College,  London  (formerly  in  the  Phillipps 
collection) ;  at  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge  (No.  98  a)  ; 
at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge ;  and  in  the  Biblioth^que  Rationale, 
Paris^ ;  and  one  which  recently  came  into  the  market  in  London. 

Steph 
Steldius 
Boerinus 

—r—r—T—T—T—T—<— 

I  f  ^  I  f  I   I  i   I 

Cm  09  C  CD  O  •" 

2.  &  00  Q, 

g  g  g 


and,  even  so,  it  is  not  quite  successful.  For  Riley  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine^ 
August,  1857,  p.  126,  suggested  the  derivation  of  the  name  of  Scef  from  the 
schiff  or  skiff  in  which  he  came. 

^  For  a  list  of  the  Icelandic  versions,  see  Heusler,  Die  gdehrte  Urgeschichte 
im  altisldndischen  Schrifttum,  pp.  18-19,  in  the  Abhandlungen  d.  preuss.  Akad., 
PUl.-Hist.  Klasse,  1908,  Berlin. 

2  The  names  are  given  as  in  the  Trinity  Roll  (T),  collated  with  Corpus  (C) 
and  Moseley  (M).  For  Paris  (P)  I  follow  Kemble's  report  {Postscript  to  Preface, 
1837,  pp.  vii,  viii:  Stammtafel  der  Westsachsen,  ^p.  18,  31).  All  seem  to  agree 
in  writing  t  for  c  in  Steph  and  Steldius,  and  in  Boerinus,  obviously,  as  Kemble 
pointed  out,  r  is  written  by  error  far  p  =  Beow-inus  [or  Beoivius] ;  Cinrinicius  T, 
Cinrinicus  C,  Cininicus  P,  Siuruncius  M;  Suethedus  TCP,  Suechedius  M;  Gethius 
T,  Thecius  M,  Ehecius  CP;  Geate  T,  Geathe  CM,  Geathus  P. 


202  The  Old  English  Genealogies 


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The  Stages  above  Woden  203 


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204  Extract  from  the  Chronicle  Roll 

The  following  marginal  note  occurs : 

Iste  Steldius  i^rimus  inhabitator  Germanie  fuit.  Que  Germania 
sic  dicta  erat,  quia  instar  ramor^tm  germinaricium  ab  arbore,  sic  nomen 
regnaqtte  germania  nuncuparitur.  In  nouem  filiis  diuisa  a  radice 
Boerini  geminaueru/it.  Ab  istis  nouem  filiis  Boerini  descenderunt 
nouem  gentes  septentrionalem  partem  inhabitantes,  qui  quondam 
regnum  Brita?tnie  inuaseruTit  et  optinueruiit,  videlicet  Saxones,  Angli, 
luthi,  Daci,  Norwagences,  Gothi,  Wandali,  Geathi  et  Fresi^. 


I.  Extract  from  the  Little  Chronicle  of 
THE  Kings  of  Leire 

From  the  Annates  Lundenses.  These  Annals  are  comparatively  late, 
going  up  to  the  year  1307;  but  the  short  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire, 
which  is  incorporated  in  them,  is  supposed  to  date  from  the  latter  half 
of  the  12th  century.  The  text  is  given  in  Langebek,  Scriptores  Rerum 
Danicarum,  i,  224-i6  (under  the  name  of  Annales  Esromenses)  from  Cod. 
Am.  Mag.  841.  There  is  a  critical  edition  by  Gertz,  Scriptores  Minores 
historise  Danicas,  Copenhagen,  1917,  based  upon  Cod.  Am.  Mag.  843.  Thg 
text  given  below  is  mainly  that  of  Langebek,  with  corrections  from  Gertz's 
fine  edition.  See  below,  p.  216. 

Erat  ergo  Dan  rex  in  Dacia^  per  triennium.  Anno  tandem 
tertio  cognouit  uxorem  suam  Daniam,  genuitque  ex  ea  filium 
nomine  Ro.  Qui  post  patris  obitum  hereditarie  possidebat 
regnum.  Patrem  uero  suum  Dan  colle  apud  Lethram  tumu- 
laiiit  Sialandiae,  ubi  sedem  regni  pro  eo  pater  constituit,  quam 
ipse  post  eum  diuitiis  multiplicibus  ditauit.  Tempore  illo 
ciuitas  magna  erat  in  medio  Sialandiae,  ubi  adhuc  mons  desertus 
est,  nomine  Hekebiarch,  ubi  sita  erat  ciuitas  quse  Hj2ikekoping 
nuncupata  est;  ad  quam  ut  mox  Ro  rex  uidit,  quod  mercatores 
a  nauibus  in  uia  currus  conducentes  multum  expenderent,  a  loco 
illo  ciuitatem  amoueri  jussit  ad  portum,  ubi  tenditur  Issefiorth, 
et  circa  fontem  pulcherrimum  domos  disponere.  ^dificauit  ibi 
Ro  ciuitatem  honestam,  cui  nomen  partitiuum  imposuit  post 
se  et  Fontem,  partem  capiens  fontis  partemque  sui,  Roskildam 
Danice  uocans,  quae  hoc  nomine  uoca[bi]tur^  in  aeternum.  Uixit 
autem  rex  Ro  ita  pacifice,  ut  nullus  ei  aciem  opponeret,  nee 
ipse  usquam  expeditionem  d.irexit*.     Erat  autem  uxor  eius 

1  I  follow  the  spelling  of  the  Moseley  roll  in  this  note. 
2. Z)aaa  =  " Denmark":  Dacia  and  Dania  were  identified. 
3  uocahitur,  Gertz ;  ttocatur,  all  mss. 

*  This  account  of  the  peaceful  reign  of  Ro  is  simply  false  etymology  from 
Danish  ro,  "rest." 


Extract  from  the  Little  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire  205 

fecunda  sobole,  ex  qua  genuit  duos  filios,  nomen  primi  Helhgi  et 
secundi  Haldan^.  Cumque  cepissent  pueri  robore  confortari 
et  crescere,  obiit  pater  eorum  Ro,  et  sepultus  est  tumulo  quodam 
Lsethrae,  post  cuius  obitum  partiti  sunt  regnum  filii,  quod  in 
duas  partes  diuidentes,  alter  terras,  alter  mare  possidebat. 
Rexit  itaque  terras  Haldanus,  et  genuit  filium  nomine  Siwardum, 
cognomine  Album,  qui  patrem  suum  Haldanum  Lsethrse  tumu- 
lauit  mortuum.  Helgi  autem  rex  erat  marinus,  et  multos  ad 
se  traxit  malificos,  nauali  bello  bene  adeptus  diuersas  partes, 
quasdam  pace,  quasdam  cum  piratica  classe  ^  petisse  perhibetur . . . 

The  Chronicle  then  tells  how  Rolf  was  born,  the  son  of  Helgi 
and  Yrse  or  Ursula:  also  of  the  death  and  burial  of  Helgi. 

Filius  autem  eius  et  Ursulae  puer  crescebat  Rolf  et  forti- 

tudine  uigebat.     Mater  uero  eius  Ursula,  uelo  uiduitatis  depo- 

sito,  data  est  regi  Suethise  Athislo,  qui  ex  ea  filiam  sibi  genuit, 

Rolf  uero  ex  matre  eius  sororem  nomine  Skuld.     Interea  dum 

haec  de  rege  marino  Helgi  agerentur,  f rater  eius,  rex  Dacise, 

mortuus  est  Haldanus.    Post  quem^  rex  Swecise  Athisl  a  Danis 

suscepit  tributum. 

*        *        *         * 

Interea . . .  conf ortabatur  filius  Helgi,  Rolff ,  cognomine 
Krake.  Quem  post  mortem  Snyo^Dani  [inpregemassumpserunt. 
Qui  Sialandiae  apud  Lethram,  sicut  antecessores  sui,  saepissime 
moratus  est.  Sororem  suam  nomine  Sculd  secum  habuit, 
Athisli  regis  filiam,  et  suae  matris  Ursulae,  de  qua  superius  dictum 
est;  quam  fraterno  amore  dilexit.  Cui  provinciam  Hornshse- 
raeth  Sialandiae  ad  pascendas  puellas  suas  in  expensam  dedit, 
in  qua  uillam  aedificauit,  nomine  Sculdelef ,  unde  nomen  suscepit. 
Hoc  tempore  erat  quidam  Comes  Scaniae,  nomine  Hiarwarth, 
Teotonicus  genere,  Rolf  tributarius,  qui  ad  eum  procos  misit,  ut 

^  Note  that  Ro  (Hrothgar),  the  son  of  Haldanus  (Healfdene),  is  here  repre- 
sented as  his  father.  Saxo  Grammaticus,  combining  divergent  accounts,  as  he 
often  does,  accordingly  mentions  two  Roes — one  the  brother  of  Haldanus,  the 
other  his  son.     See  above,  pp.  131-2. 

2  cum  piratica  classe,  Langebek;  the  mss  have  cum  pieiate(l)  with  or 
without  classe. 

'  post  quem,  Holder-Egger,  Gertz;  postquam,  all  mss. 

*  Snyo :  the  viceroy  whom  Athisl  had  placed  over  the  Danes. 

*  in  added  by  Gertz;  omitted  in  all  mss. 


206  Extract  from  the  Little  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire 

sororem  suam  Sculd  Hiarwardo  daret  uxorem.  Quo  nolente, 
propria  ipsius  uoluntate  puellae  clanculo  earn  raptam  sociauit 
sibi.  Unde  conspirauerunt  inter  se  deliberantes  Hiarwart  et 
Sculd,  quomodo  Rolf  interficeretur,  et  Hiarwardus  superstes 
regni  heres  efficeretur.  Non  post  multum  vero  temporis  ani- 
mosus  ad  uxoris  exhortationem  Hiarwart  Sialandiam  classe 
petiit.  Genero  suo  RolfE  tributum  attulisse  simulauit.  Die 
quadam  dilucescente  ad  Lsethram  misit,  ut  uideret  tributum, 
Rolff  nunciauit.  Qui  cum  uidisset  non  tributum  sed  exercitum 
armatum,  uallatus  est  Rolff  militibus,  et  a  Hyarwardo  inter- 
fectus  est.  Hyarwardum  autem  Syalandenses  et  Scanienses, 
qui  cum  eo  erant,  in  regem  assumpserunt.  Qui  breui  tempore, 
a  mane  usque  ad  primam,  regali  nomine  potitus  est.  Tunc 
uenit  Haky,  f rater  Haghbardi,  filius  Hamundi;  Hyarwardum 
interfecit  et  Danorum  rex  efiectus  est.  Quo  regnante,  uenit 
quidam  nomine  Fritleff  a  partibus  Septentrionalibus  et  filiam 
sibi  desponsauit  RolfE  Crake,  ex  qua  filium  nomine  Frothe 
genuit,  cognomine  Largus. 

K.    The  Story  op  Offa  in  Saxo  Grammaticus 

Book  IV,  ed.  Ascensius,  f ol.  xxxii  b ;  ed.  Holder,  pp.  106-7. 

Cui  filius  Wermundus  succedit.  Hie  prolixis  tranquillitatis 
otiis  felicissima  temporum  quiete  decursis,  diutinam  domesticse 
pacis  constantiam  inconcussa  rerum  securitate  tractabat.  Idem 
prolis  expers  iuuentam  exegit ;  senior  uero  filium  Uffonem  sero 
fortunae  munere  suscitauit,  cum  nuUam  ei  sobolem  elapsa  tot 
annorum  curricula  peperissent.  Hie  UfEo  coseuos  quosque  cor- 
poris habitu  supergressus,  adeo  hebetis  ineptique  animi  prin- 
cipio  iuuentse  existimatus  est,  ut  priuatis  ac  publicis  rebus 
inutilis  uideretur.  Siquidem  ab  ineunte  aetate  nunquam  lusus 
aut  ioci  consuetudinem  praebuit ;  adeoque  humanae  delectationis 
uacuus  fuit,  ut  labiorum  continentiam  iugi  silentio  premeret, 
et  seueritatem  oris  a  ridendi  prorsus  officio  temperaret.  Uerum 
ut  incunabula  stoliditatis  opinione  referta  habuit,  ita  post 
modum  conditionis  contemptum  claritate  mutauit ;  et  quantum 
inertiae  spectaculum  fuit,  tantum  prudentiae  et  fortitudinis 
exemplum  euasit. 


The  Story  of  Offa  in  Saxo  Grammaticvs  207 

Book  IV,  ed.  Ascensius,  fol.  xxxivb;  ed.  Holder,  pp.  113-7. 
Cumque  Wermundus  aetatis  uitio  oculis  orbaretur,  Saxonise 
rex,  Daniam  duce  uacuam  ratus,  ei  per  legatos  mandat,  regnum, 
quod  praeter  aetatis  debitum  teneat,  sibi  procurandum  committat, 
ne  nimis  longa  imperii  auiditate  patriam  legibus  armisque  desti- 
tuat.  Qualiter  enim  regem  censeri  posse,  cui  senectus  animum, 
caecitas  oculum  pari  caliginis  horrore  f  uscauerit  ?  Quod  si  abnuat, 
filiumque  habeat,  qui  cum  suo  ex  prouocatione  confligere 
audeat,  uictorem  regno  potiri  permittat.  Si  neutrum  probet, 
armis  secum,  non  monitis  agendum  cognoscat,  ut  tandem  inuitus 
praebeat,  quod  ultroneus  exhibere  contemnat.  Ad  haec  Wer- 
mundus, altioribus  suspiriis  fractus,  impudentius  se  aetatis 
exprobratione  lacerari  respondit,  quem  non  ideo  hue  inf elicitatis 
senectus  prouexerit,  quod  pugnae  parous  timidius  iuuentam 
exegerit.  Nee  aptius  sibi  caecitatis  uitium  obiectari,  quod 
plerunque  talem  aetatis  habitum  talis  iactura  consequi  soleat, 
potiusque  condolendum  calamitati  quam  insultandum  uideatur. 
lustius  autem  Saxoniae  regi  impatientiae  notam  afferri  posse, 
quem  potius  senis  fatum  operiri,  quam  imperium  poscere 
decuisset,  quod  aliquanto  praestet  defuncto  succedere,  quam 
uiuum  spoliare.  Se  tamen,  ne  tanquam  delirus  priscae  libertatis 
titulos  externo  uideatur  mancipare  dominio,  propria  manu 
prouocationi  pariturum.  Ad  haec  legati,  scire  se  inquiunt, 
regem  suum  conserendae  cum  caeco  manus  ludibrium  perhorrere, 
quod  tam  ridiculum  decernendi  genus  rubori  quam  honestati 
propinquius  habeatur.  Aptius  uero  per  utriusque  pignus  et 
sanguinem  amborum  negotio  consuli.  Ad  haec  obstupefactis 
animo  Danis,  subitaque  responsi  ignorantia  perculsis,  Uffo,  qui 
forte  cum  ceteris  aderat,  responsionis  a  patre  licentiam  flagita- 
bat,  subitoque  uelut  ex  muto  uocalis  euasit.  Cumque  Wer- 
mundus, quisnam  talem  a  se  loquendi  copiam  postularet, 
inquireret,  ministrique  eum  ab  Uffone  rogari  dixissent,  satis 
esse  perhibuit,  ut  infelicitatis  suae  uulneribus  alienorum  fastus 
illuderet,  ne  etiam  a  domesticis  simili  insultationis  petulantia 
uexaretur.  Sed  satellitibus  Uffonem  hunc  esse  pertinaci 
affirmatione  testantibus,  "Liberum  ei  sit,"  inquit,  "quisquis 
est,  cogitata  profari."  Tum  Uffo,  frustra  ab  eorum  rege  regnum 
appeti,  inquit,  quod  tam  proprii  rectoris  officio  quam  fortissi- 


208         The  Story  of  Offa  in  Saxo  Grammaticus 

morum  procerum  armis  industriaque  niteretur:  prseterea,  nee 
regi  filium  nee  regno  suecessorem  deesse.  Sciantque,  se  non 
solum  regis  eorum  filium,  sed  etiam  quemeunque  ex  gentis 
suae  fortissimis  seeum  adsciuerit,  simul  pugna  aggredi  eonstit- 
uisse.  Quo  audito  legati  risere,  uanam  dieti  animositatem 
existimantes.  Nee  mora,  eondieitur  pugnae  locus,  eidemque 
stata  temporis  meta  praefigitur.  Tantum  autem  stuporis  Uffo 
loquendi  ac  prouocandi  nouitate  praesentibus  iniecit,  ut,  utrum 
uoei  eius  an  fiduciae  plus  admirationis  tributum  sit,  incertum 
extiterit. 

Abeuntibus  autem  legatis,  Wermundus,  responsionis  auetore 
laudato,  quod  uirtutis  fiduciam  non  in  unius,  sed  duorum  pro- 
uocatione  statuerit,  potius  se  ei,  quieunque  sit,  quam  superbo 
hosti  regno  cessurum  perhibuit.  Uniuersis  autem  filium  eius 
esse  testantibus,  qui  legatorum  fastum  fidueiae  sublimitate 
contempserit,  propius  eum  aceedere  iubet:  quod  oculis  nequeat, 
manibus  experturus.  Corpore  deinde  eius  curiosius  contrectato, 
cum  ex  artuum  granditate  lineamentisque  filium  esse  cognosset, 
fidem  assertoribus  habere  ccepit,  percontarique  eum,  cur  suauis- 
simum  uocis  habitum  summo  dissimulationis  studio  tegendum 
curauerit,  tantoque  aetatis  spatio  sine  uoee  et  cunctis  loquendi 
commerciis  degere  sustinuerit,  ut  se  linguae  prorsus  officio 
defectum  natiuaeque  taciturnitatis  uitio  obsitum  credi  permit- 
teret?  Qui  respondit,  se  paterna  hactenus  defensione  conten- 
tum,  non  prius  uocis  officio  opus  habuisse,  quam  domesticam 
prudentiam  externa  loquacitate  pressam  animaduerteret.  Ko- 
gatus  item  ab  eo,  cur  duos  quam  unum  prouocare  maluit,  hunc 
iceirco  dimicationis  modum  a  se  exoptatum  respondit,  ut  Athisli 
regis  oppressio,  quae,  quod  a  duobus  gesta  f uerat,  Danis  opprobrio 
extabat,  unius  facinore  pensaretur,  nouumque  uirtutis  specimen 
prisca  ruboris  monumenta  eonuelleret.  Ita  antiquae  crimen 
infamiae  recentis  famae  litura  respergendum  dicebat.  Quem 
Wermundus  iustam  omnium  aestimationem  fecisse  testatus, 
armorum  usum,  quod  eis  parum  assueuisset,  praediscere  iubet. 
Quibus  UfEo  oblatis,  magnitudine  pectoris  angustos  loricarum 
nexus  explicuit;  nee  erat  ullam  reperire,  quae  eum  iusto  capaci- 
tatis  spatio  contineret.  Maiore  siquidem  corpore  erat,  quam 
ut  alienis  armis  uti  posset.     Ad  ultimum,  cum  paternam  quoque 


The  Dvel  209 

loricam  uiolenta  corporis  astrictione  dissolueret,  Wermundus 
earn  a  Iseuo  latere  dissecari,  fibulaque  sarciri  praecepit,  partem, 
quae  clypei  praesidio  muniatur,  ferro  patere  parui  existimans. 
Sed  et  gladium,  quo  tuto  uti  possit,  summa  ab  eo  cura 
conscisci  iussit.  Oblatis  compluribus,  Uffo  manu  capulum 
stringens,  frustatim  singulos  agitando  comminuit;  nee  erat 
quisquam  ex  eis  tanti  rigoris  gladius,  quern  non  ad  primae  con- 
cussionis  motum  crebra  partium  fractione  dissolueret.  Erat 
autem  regi  inusitati  acuminis  gladius,  Skrep  dictus,  qui  quodlibet 
obstaculi  genus  uno  ferientis  ictu  medium  penetrando  diffin- 
deret,  nee  adeo  quicquam  praedurum  foret,  ut  adactam  eius 
aciem  remorari  potuisset.  Quem  ne  posteris  fruendum  relin- 
queret,  per  summam  alienae  commoditatis  inuidiam  in  profunda 
defoderat,  utilitatem  ferri,  quod  filii  incrementis  diffideret, 
ceteris  negaturus.  Interrogatus  autem,  an  dignum  Uffonis 
robore  ferrum  haberet,  habere  se  dixit,  quod,  si  pridem  a  se 
terrae  traditum  recognito  locorum  babitu  reperire  potuisset, 
aptum  corporis  eius  uiribus  exhiberet.  In  campum  deinde 
perduci  se  iubens,  cum,  interrogatis  per  omnia  comitibus, 
defossionis  locum  acceptis  signorum  indiciis  comperisset,  ex- 
tractum  cauo  gladium  filio  porrigit.  Quem  Uffo  nimia  uetustate 
fragilem  exesumque  conspiciens,  feriendi  diffidentia  percontatur, 
an  hunc  quoque  priorum  exemplo  probare  debeat,  prius  habitum 
eius,  quam  rem  ferro  geri  oporteat,  explorandum  testatus. 
Refert  Wermundus,  si  praesens  ferrum  ab  ipso  uentilando 
coUideretur,  non  superesse,  quod  uirium  eiushabitui  responderet. 
Abstinendum  itaque  facto,  cuius  in  dubio  exitus  maneat. 

Igitur  ex  pacto  pugnae  locus  expetitur.  Hunc  fluuiua 
Eidorus  ita  aquarum  ambitu  uallat,  ut  earum  interstitio  repug- 
nante,  nauigii  duntaxat  aditus  pateat.  Quem  Uffone  sine 
comite  petente,  Saxoniae  regis  filium  insignis  uiribus  athleta 
consequitur,  crebris  utrinque  turbis  alternos  riparum  anfractus 
spectandi  auiditate  complentibus.  Cunctis  igitur  huic  spectaculo 
oculos  inferentibus,  Wermundus  in  extrema  pontis  parte  se 
coUocat,  si  filium  uinci  contigisset,  flumine  periturus.  Maluit 
enim  sanguinis  sui  ruinam  comitari,  quam  patriae  interitum 
plenis  doloris  sensibus  intueri.  Uerum  Uffo,  geminis  iuuenum 
congressibus  lacessitus,  gladii  diffidentia  amborum  ictus  umbone 

O.  B.  14 


210         The  Story  of  Oj^a  in  Saxo  Grammaticits 

uitabat,  patientius  experiri  constituens,  quern  e  duobiis  atten- 
tius  cauere  debuisset,  ut  hunc  saltern  uno  ferri  impulsu  contin- 
geret.  Quern  Wermundus  imbecillitatis  uitio  tantam  recipien- 
dorum  ictuum  patientiam  prsestare  existimans,  paulatim  in 
occiduam  pontis  oram  mortis  cupiditate  se  protrahit,  si  de 
filio  actum  foret,  fatum  precipitio  petiturus.  Tanta  sanguinis 
caritate  flagrantem  senem  fortuna  protexit.  UfEo  siquidem 
filium  regis  ad  secum  auidius  decernendum  hortatus,  claritatem 
generis  ab  ipso  conspicuo  fortitudinis  opere  aequari  iubet,  ne 
rege  ortum  plebeius  comes  uirtute  prsestare  uideatur.  Athletam 
deinde,  explorandae  eius  fortitudinis  gratia,  ne  domini  sui  terga 
timidius  subsequeretur,  admonitum  fiduciam  a  regis  filio  in  se 
repositam  egregiis  dimicationis  operibus  pensare  praecepit, 
cuius  delectu  unicus  pugnaB  comes  adscitus  fuerit.  Obtemper- 
antem  ilium  propiusque  congredi  rubore  compulsum,  primo 
ferri  ictu  medium  dissecat.  Quo  sono  recreatus  Wermundus, 
filii  ferrum  audire  se  dixit,  rogatque,  cui  potissimum  parti  ictum 
inflixerit.  Referentibus  deinde  ministris,  eum  non  unam  cor- 
poris partem,  sed  totam  hominis  transegisse  compagem, 
abstractum  prsecipitio  corpus  ponti  restituit,  eodem  studio 
lucem  expetens,  quo  fatum  optauerat.  Tum  UfEo,  reliquum 
hostem  prioris  exemplo  consumere  cupiens,  regis  filium  ad 
ultionem  interfecti  pro  se  satellitis  manibus  parentationis  loco 
erogandam  impensioribus  uerbis  sollicitat.  Quem  propius 
accedere  sua  adhortatione  coactum,  infligendi  ictus  loco  curio- 
sius  denotato,  gladioque,  quod  tenuem  eius  laminam  suis 
imparem  uiribus  formidaret,  in  aciem  alteram  uerso,  penetrabili 
corporis  sectione  transuerberat.  Quo  audito  Wermundus 
Screp  gladii  sonum  secundo  suis  auribus  incessisse  perhibuit. 
Affirmantibus  deinde  arbitris,  utrunque  hostem  ab  eius  filio 
consumptum,  nimietate  gaudii  uultum  fletu  soluit.  Ita  genas, 
quas  dolor  madidare  non  poterat,  Isetitia  rigauit.  Saxonibus 
igitur  pudore  moestis,  pugilumque  funus  summa  cum  ruboris 
acerbitate  ducentibus,  Uffonem  Dani  iocundis  excepere  tri- 
pudiis.  Quieuit  tum  Athislanae  caedis  infamia,  Saxonumque 
obprobriis  expirauit. 

Ita   Saxonise  regnum  ad  Danos   translatum,  post  patrem 
Uffo  regendum  suscepit,  utriusque  imperii  procurator  effectus, 


From  Shiold  to  Offa  in  Sweyn  Aageson  211 

qui  ne  unum  quidem  rite  moderaturus  credebatur.  Hie  a 
compluribus  Olauus  est  dictus,  atque  ob  animi  moderationem 
Mansueti  cognomine  donatus.  Cuius  sequentes  actus  uetus- 
tatis  uitio  solennem  fefellere  notitiam.  Sed  credi  potest, 
gloriosos  eorum  processus  extitisse,  quorum  tarn  plena  laudis 
principia  fuerint. 


L.    From  Skiold  to  Offa  in  Sweyn  Aageson 

In  Langebek,  Serif  tores,  i,  44-7 ;  Gertz,  i,  97. 

CAP.  I. 

De  primo  Kege  Danorum. 

Skiold  Danis  primum  didici  praefuisse.  Et  ut  eius  alludamus 
uocabulo,  idcirco  tali  functus  est  nomine,  quia  uniuersos  regni 
terminos  regiae  defensionis  patrocinio  affatim  egregie  tuebatur. 
A  quo  primum,  modis  Islandensibus,  "  Skioldunger "  sunt  reges 
nuncupati.  Qui  regni  post  se  reliquit  hseredes,  Frothi  uidelicet 
et  Haldanum.  Successu  temporum  fratribus  super  regni 
ambitione  inter  se  decertantibus,  Haldan,  fratre  suo  interempto, 
regni  monarchiam  obtinuit.  Hie  filium,  scilicet  Helghi,  regni 
procreauit  hseredem,  qui  ob  eximiam  uirtutum  strenuitatem, 
pyraticam  semper  exercuit.  Qui  cum  uniuersorum  circum- 
iacentium  regnorum  fines  maritimos  classe  pyratica  depopulatus, 
suo  subiugasset  imperio,  "Kex  maris  "  est  cognominatus.  Huic 
in  regno  successit  filius  Rolf  Kraki,  patria  virtute  pollens, 
occisus  in  Lethra,  quae  tunc  famosissima  Regis  extitit  curia, 
nunc  autem  Roskildensi  uicina  ciuitati,  inter  abiectissima  ferme 
uix  colitur  oppida.  Post  quem  regnauit  filius  eius  Rokil  cog- 
nomento  dictus  "  Slaghenback."  Cui  successit  in  regno  hseres, 
agilitatis  strenuitate  cognominatus,  quem  nostro  uulgarj_ 
"Frothi  bin  Frokni"  nominabant.  Huius  filius  et  hseres  regni 
extitit  Wermundus,  qui  adeo  prudentise  pollebat  uirtute,  ut 
inde  nomen  consequeretur.  Unde  et  "Prudens"  dictus  est. 
Hie  filium  genuit  Ufl&  nomine,  qui  usque  ad  tricesimum  aetatis 
suae  annum  fandi  possibilitatem  cohibuit,  propter  enormitatem 
opprobrii,  quod  tunc  temporis  Danis  ingruerat,  eo  quod  in 

14—2 


212  The  Story  of  Offa  in  Sweyn  Aageson 

ultionem  patris  duo  Dani  in  Sueciam  prof  ecti,  patricidam  suum 
una  interemerunt.  Nam  et  tunc  temporis  ignominiosum  extitit 
improperium,  si  solum  duo  iugularent;  prsesertim  cum  soli 
strenuitati  tunc  superstitiosa  gentilitas  operam  satagebat  im- 
pendere.  Praefatus  itaque  Wermundus  usque  ad  senium 
regni  sui  gubernabat  imperium ;  adeo  tandem  aetate  consumptus, 
ut  oculi  eius  prse  senio  caligarent.  Cuius  debilitatis  fama  cum 
apud  transalpinas^  partes  percrebuisset,  elationis  turgiditate 
Teotonica  intumuit  superbia,  utpote  suis  nunquam  contenta 
terminis.  Hinc  furoris  sui  rabiem  in  Danos  exacuit  Imperator, 
se  iam  Danorum  regno  conquisito  sceptrum  nancisci  augustius 
conspicatus.  Delegantur  itaque  spiculatores,  qui  turgidi  prin- 
cipis  jussa  reportent  prsefato  Danorum  regi,  scilicet  Wermundo, 
duarum  rerum  prsefigentes  electionem,  quarum  pars  tamen 
neutra  extitit  eligenda.  Aut  enim  regnum  jussit  Romano 
resignare  imperio,  et  tributum  soluere,  aut  athletam  inuestigare, 
qui  cum  Imperatoris  campione  monomachiam  committere 
auderet.  Quo  audito,  regis  extitit  mens  consternata ;  totiusque 
regni  procerum  legione  corrogata,  quid  facto  opus  sit,  diligenti 
inquisitione  percontabatur.  Perplexam  se  namque  regis  autu- 
mabat  autoritas,  utpote  cui  et  ius  incumbebat  decertandi,  et  qui 
regno  patrocinari  tenebatur.  Uultum  ccecitas  obnubilauerat, 
et  regni  heres  elinguis  factus,  desidia  torpuerat,  ita  ut  in  eo, 
communi  assertione,  nulla  prorsus  species  salutis  existeret. 
Nam  ab  infantia  praefatus  UfFo  uentris  indulgebat  ingluuiei, 
et  Epicurseorum  more,  coquinae  et  cellario  alternum  oflS.ciose 
impendebat  obsequium.  Corrogato  itaque  coetu  procerum, 
totiusque  regni  placito^  celebrato,  Alamannorum  regis  ambiti- 
onem  explicuit,  quid  in  hac  optione  baud  eligenda  f acturus  sit, 
indagatione  cumulata  senior  sciscitatur.  Et  dum  uniuersorum 
mens  consternaretur  angustia,  cunctique  indulgerent  silentio, 
praefatus  Uffo  in  media  concione  surrexit.  Quem  cum  cohors 
uniuersa  conspexisset,  satis  nequibat  admirari,  ut  quid  elinguis 
uelut  orationi  gestus  informaret.  Et  quia  omne  rarum  dignum 
nouimus  admiratione,  omnium  in  se  duxit  intuitum.  Tandem 
sic  orsus  coepit:   "Non  nos  minae  moueant  lacessentium,  cum 

1  A  scribal  error  for  transalbinas,  *'  beyond  the  Elbe.'* 

2  Assembly. 


The  Duel  213 

"ea  Teotonicse  turgiditati  innata  sit  conditio,  ut  uerborum 
"  ampullositate  glorientur,  minarumque  uentositate  pusill- 
**animes  et  imbecilles  calleant  comminatione  consternare. 
"Me  etenim  unicum  et  uerum  regni  natura  produxit  heredem, 
"cui  profecto  nouistis  incumbere,  ut  monomachiae  me  discrimini 
"audacter  obiiciam,  quatenus  uel  pro  regno  solus  occumbam, 
"uel  pro  patria  solus  uictoriam  obtineam.  Ut  ergo  minarum 
"cassetur  ampullositas,  haec  Imperatori  referant  mandata,  ut 
"  Imperatoris  filius  et  heres  imperii,  cum  athleta  praestantissimo, 
"mihi  soli  non  formidet  occurrere."  Dixit,  et  haec  verba 
dictauit  voce  superba.  Qui  dum  orationem  complesset,  a 
collateralibus  senior  sciscitabatur,  cuiusnam  hsec  fuisset  oratio? 
Cum  autem  a  circumstantibus  intellexisset,  quod  filius  suus, 
prius  veluti  mutus,  hunc  effudisset  sermonem,  palpandum 
eum  jussit  accersiri.  Et  cum  humeros  lacertosque,  et  clunes, 
suras  atque  tibias,  cseteraque  membra  organica  crebro  palpasset : 
"Talem,'*  ait,  "me  memini  in  flore  extitisse  iuuentutis."  Quid 
multa?  Terminus  pugnae  constituitur  et  locus.  Talique  res- 
ponso  percepto,  ad  propria  legati  repedabant. 


CAP.  II. 

De  duello  Uffonis. 

Superest  ergo,  ut  arma  nouo  militi  congrua  corrogentur. 
Allatisque  ensibus,  quos  in  regno  praestantiores  rex  poterat 
inuestigare,  Uffo  singulos  dextra  uibrans,  in  partes  confregit 
minutissimas.  "Haeccine  arma  sunt,"  inquit,  "quibus  et 
uitam  et  regni  tuebor  honorem? "  Cuius  cum  pater  uiuidam  ex- 
periretur  uirtutem,  "Unicum  adhuc,"  ait,  "et  regni  et  uitae  nos- 
tras superest  asylum."  Ad  tumulum  itaque  ducatum  postulauit, 
in  quo  prius  mucronem  experientissimum  occultauerat.  Et 
mox  intersigniis  per  petrarum  notas  edoctus,  gladium  jussit 
effodi  praestantissimum.  Quem  illico  dextra  corripiens,  "Hie 
est,"  ait,  "fili,  quo  numerose  triumphaui,  et  qui  mihi  infallibile 
semper  tutamen  extitit."  Et  haec  dicens,  eundem  filio  contra- 
didit.     Nee  mora;   terminus  ecce  congressioni  praefixus  arctius 


214  The  Story  of  Offa  in  Sweyn  Aageson 

instabat.   Tandem,  confluentibus  undique  phalangis  innumera- 
bilibus,  in  Egdorse  fluminis  mediamne^  locus  pugnse  constituitur : 
ut    ita  pugnatores  ab  utriusque  coetus  adminiculo  segregati 
nullius  opitulatione  fungerentur.     Teotonicis  ergo  ultra  flumi- 
nis ripam  in  Holsatia  considentibus,  Danis  uero  citra  amnem 
dispositis,  rex  pontis  in  medio  sedem  elegit,  quatenus,  si  uni- 
genitus  occumberet,  in  fluminis  se  gurgitem  praecipitaret,  ne 
pariter  nato  orbatus  et  regno  cum  dolore  superstes  canos  dedu- 
ceret  ad  inferos.     Deinde  emissis  utrinque  pugilibus,  in  medio 
amne  conuenerunt.     Ast  ubi  miles  noster  egregius  Uflo,  duos 
sibi  conspexit  occurrere,  tanquam  leo  pectore  robusto  infremuit, 
animoque  constanti  duobus  electis  audacter  se  opponere  non 
detrectauit,  illo  cinctus  mucrone,  quem  patrem  supra  memi- 
nimus  occuluisse,  et  alterum  dextra  strictum  gestans.     Quos 
cum  primum  obuios  habuisset,  sic  singillatim  utrumque  allo- 
quitur,  et  quod  raro  legitur  accidisse,  atbleta  noster  elegantis- 
simus,  cuius  memoria  in  seternum  non  delebitur,  ita  aduersarios 
animabat  ad  pugnam:    "Si  te,"  inquit,  "regni  nostri  stimulat 
'  ambitio,  ut  nostrse  opis,  potentiaeque,  opumque  capessere  uelis 
'opulentias,   comminus  te   clientem  decet  prsecedere,   ut   et 
'  regni  tui  terminos  amplifices,  et  militibus  tuis  conspicientibus, 
strenuitatis  nomen  nanciscaris."     Campionem  uero  hunc  in 
modum  alloquitur:   "Uirtutis  tu88  experientiam  jam  locus  est 
'propagare,   si  comminus  accesseris,   et  eam,   quam  pridem 
'Alamannis  gloriam  ostendisti,  Danis  quoque  propalare  non 
'  cuncteris.    Nunc  ergo  f amam  tuse  strenuitatis  poteris  ampliare, 
'  et  egregiae  munificentiae  dono  ditari,  si  et  dominum  praecedas, 
'  et  clypeo  def ensionis  eum  tuearis.     Studeat,  quaeso,  Teotonicis 
'experta    strenuitas    variis    artis    pugillatoriae    modis    Danos 
'instruere,  ut  tandem  optata  potitus  uictoria,  cum  triumphi 
'ualeas  exultatione  ad  propria  remeare."     Quam  quum  com- 
plesset  exhortationem,  pugilis  cassidem  toto  percussit  conamine, 
ita  ut,  quo  feriebat,  gladius  in  duo  dissiliret.     Cuius  fragor  per 
uniuersum   intonuit  exercitum.     Unde   cohors    Teotonicorum 
exultatione  perstrepebat :    sed  contra  Dani  desperationis  con- 
sternati    tristitia,    gemebundi    murmurabant.     Rex    uero,    ut 
audiuit,  quod  filii  ensis  dissiliuisset,  in  margine  se  pontis  jussit 

^  Island. 


Note  on  the  Danish  Chronicles  215 

locari.  Uerum  UfEo,  subito  exempto,  quo  cinctus  erat,  gladio, 
pugilis  illico  coxam  cruentauit,  nee  mora,  et  caput  pariter 
amputauit.  Sic  ergo  ludus  fortunae  ad  instar  lunse  uarius, 
nunc  his,  nunc  illis  successibus  illudebat,  et  quibus  iamiam 
exultatione  fauebat  ingenti,  eos  nouercali  mox  uultu,  toruoque 
conspexit  intuitu.  Hoc  cognito,  senior  jam  confidentius  priori 
se  jussit  sede  locari.  Nee  jam  anceps  diu  extitit  uictoria. 
Siquidem  Uifo  ualide  instans,  ad  ripam  amnis  pepulit  haeredem 
imperii,  ibique  eum  baud  difi&culter  gladio  iugulauit.  Sicque 
duorum  solus  uictor  existens,  Danis  irrogatam  multis  retro 
temporibus  infamiam  gloriosa  uirtute  magnifice  satis  aboleuit. 
Atque  ita  Alamannis  cum  improperii  uerecundia,  cassatisque 
minarum  ampullositatibus,  cum  probris  ad  propria  remeantibus, 
postmodum  in  pacis  tranquillitate  praecluis  Uffo  regni  sui 
regebat  imperium. 

M.    Note  on  the  Danish  Chkonicles 

The  text  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  given  above,  is  based  upon 
the  magnificent  first  edition  printed  by  Badius  Ascensius 
(Paris,  1514).  Even  at  the  time  when  this  edition  was  printed, 
manuscripts  of  Saxo  had  become  exceedingly  scarce,  and  we 
have  now  only  odd  leaves  of  ms  remaining.  One  fragment, 
however,  discovered  at  Angers,  and  now  in  the  Royal  Library 
at  Copenhagen,  comes  from  a  MS  which  had  apparently 
received  additions  from  Saxo  himself,  and  therefore  affords 
evidence  as  to  his  spelling. 

Holder's  edition  (Strassburg,  1886)  whilst  following  in  the 
main  the  1514  text  of  Badius  Ascensius,  is  accordingly  revised 
to  comply  with  the  spelling  of  the  Copenhagen  fragments,  and 
with  any  other  traces  of  MS  authority  extant.  I  doubt  the 
necessity  for  such  revision.  If  the  text  were  extant  in  MS, 
one  might  feel  bound  to  follow  the  spelling  of  the  MS,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  old  English  mss  of  the  Vitae  Off  arum  below:  but 
seeing  that  Saxo,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  pages,  is  extant 
only  in  a  16th  century  printed  copy,  the  spelling  of  which  is 
almost  identical  with  that  now  current  in  Latin  text  books,  it 
seems  a  pity  to  restore  conjecturally  mediaeval  spellings  likely 


216  Note  on  the  Danish  Chronicles 

to  worry  a  student.  Accordingly  I  have  followed  the  printed 
text  of  1514,  modernizing  a  very  few  odd  spellings,  and  correct- 
ing some  obvious  printers  errors^. 

A  translation  of  the  first  nine  books  of  Saxo  by  Prof.  0.  Elton 
has  been  published  by  the  Folk-Lore  Society  (No.  xxxiii,  1893). 

Saxo  completed  his  history  in  the  early  years  of  the 
13th  century.  His  elder  contemporary,  Sweyn  Aageson,  had 
already  written  a  Brief  History  of  the  Kings  of  Denmark. 
Sweyn's  History  must  have  been  completed  not  long  after  1185, 
to  which  date  belongs  the  last  event  he  records.  The  extracts 
given  from  it  (pp.  211-15)  are  taken  from  Langebek's  collection, 
with  modifications  of  spelling.  Langebek  follows  the  first 
edition  (Stephanius,  1642) ;  the  ms  used  in  this  edition  had 
been  destroyed  in  1728.  Cod.  Am.  Mag.  33,  recently  printed 
by  Gertz,  although  very  corrupt,  is  supposed  to  give  the 
text  of  Sweyn's  History  in  a  form  less  sophisticated  than  that 
of  the  received  text  (see  Gertz,  ScHpfores  Minores  Historise 
Danic3B,  1917,  p.  62).  The  Little  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire 
is  probably  earlier  than  Sweyn's  History.  Gertz  dates  it  c.  1170, 
and  thinks  it  was  written  by  someone  connected  with  the 
church  at  Roskilde.  It  covers  only  the  early  traditional 
history.   See  above,  pp.  17,  204. 

For  comparison,  the  following  lists,  as  given  in  the  roll  of 
kings  known  as  Langfe&gatal,  in  the  Little  Chronicle,  in  Sweyn, 
and  in  Saxo  may  be  useful: 


LangfeSgata 

Little 
il         Chronicle 
Dan 

Sweyn 

Saxo 
Dan 

Names  as  given 
in  Beonmlf 

Skioldr. . . 

Skiold 

{Humblu3 
(Lotherus 
Skioldus 

?=Herem9.d 
Scyld 

1  I  have  substituted  u  for  v,  and  have  abandoned  spellings  like  theutones, 
thezauro,  orrifico,  charitas,  phas  (for  fas),  atlethas,  choercuit,  iocundum,  charum, 
fcelicissima,  nanque,  hsereditarii .  exoluere. 

The  actual  reading  of  the  1514  text  is  abandoned  by  substituting:  p.  130, 1.  3 
ingeniti  for  ingenitis  (1514);  p.  132, 1.  22,  iacientisior  iacentis;  p.  134, 1.  2,  diutinsF 
for  diutiuse;  p.  136,  1.  II,  fudit  ior  fugit;  p.  136,  1.  20,  ut  for  aut;  p.  137,  1.  8, 
ammirationi  for  ammirationis;  p.  137, 1.  16,  offert  for  affert;  p.  137, 1.  17,  Roluoni 
for  Rouolni;  p.  137,  1.  27,  ministerio  for  ministros;  p,  137,  1.  33  diuturnus  for 
diuturnius;  p.  206, 1. 22,  diutinam  for  diutina;  p.  207, 1.  3,  ei  for  eique;  p.  207, 1.  5, 
destituat  for  deficiat;  p.  209, 1.  2,  latere  for  latera;  p.  209, 1.  5,  conscisci  for  concissi; 
p.  209,  1.  14,  defoderat  for  defodera. 


Lists  of  Early  Danish  Kings 


217 


Little 

Names  as  given 

LangfeSgatal 

Chronicle 

Sweyn 

Saxo 
Gram 
Hadingua 

in  Beowulf 

Frothi 
Haldanus 

Frotho  I 

?=  Beowulf  I 

Halfdan 

C  Haldanus  I 

Healfdene 

Ro 

JRoel 
( Scato 

(Hroar 
^Helgi 

Haldaa 
Helgi 

Roe  II 
Helgo 

Hrothgar 

Helghi 

Halga 

Rolf  Kraki 

Rolf  Krake 

Rolf  Kraki 

Roluo  Krage 

Hrothulf 

Hiarwarth 

Hiarthuarus 

Heoroweard 

Hrserekr 

Rokil 

R€^ricu8 

Hrethric 

N.  The  Life  of  Offa  I,  with  extracts  from  the  Life  of 
Offa  II.  Edited  from  two  mss  in  the  Cottonian 
Collection 

The  text  is  given  from  MS  Cotton  Nero  D.  I  (quoted  in  the  footnotes 
as  A),  collated  with  MS  Claudius  E.  IV  (quoted  as  B).  Minor  variations 
of  B  are  not  usually  noted.    The  two  mss  agree  closely. 

The  Nero  ms  is  the  more  elaborate  of  the  two,  and  is  adorned  with 
very  fine  drawings.  Claudius,  however,  offers  occasionally  a  better  text; 
it  has  been  read  by  a  corrector  whose  alterations — contrary  to  what  is 
so  often  the  case  in  mediaeval  mss — seem  to  be  authoritative. 

The  Lives  of  the  Offas  were  printed  by  Wats  in  his  edition  of  Matthew 
Paris  (1639-40)  from  ms  A.  Miss  Rickert  has  printed  extracts  from  the 
two  lives,  in  Mod.  Phil,  n,  14  etc.,  following  ms  A,  "as  Wats  sometimes 
takes  liberties  with  the  text." 


INCIPIT  HISTORIA  DE  OFFA  PRIMO  QUI  STRENUITATE  SUA 
S75I  ANGLIE  MAXIMAJf  P^i^TEJtf  SiJBEGiT.  GUI  SIMILLI- 
M.U8  FUIT  SECUNBUS  OFFA^. 

^ol.  2o  Inter  occidentalium  Anglorum  reges  illustrissimos,  precipua 
commendac2onis  laude  celebratur  Rex  Warmundus,  ab  hiis  qui 
historias  Anglorum  non  solum  relatu  proferre,  set  eciam  scrip tis 
inserere  consueuerant.  Is  fundator  erat  cuiw^dam  urbis  a 
seipso  denominate,  que  lingua  Anglicana  Warwic,  id  est  curia 
Warmundi,  nuncupatur.  Qui  usque  ad  annos  seniles  absqwe 
liberis  extitit,  preter  unicum  filium;  quern,  ut  estimabat,  regni 
sui  heredem  et  successorem  puerilis  debilitatis  incomodo 
laborantem,  constituere  non  ualebat.  Licet  enim  idem  unices 
filius  eius,  Offa  uel  Offanus  nomine,  statura  fuisset  procerus, 

^  Above  this  heading  B  has  Geata  Offe  Regis  merciorwm. 


218  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

corpore  integer,  et  elegantissime  forme  iuuenis  existeret,  per- 
mawsit  tamen  a  natiuitate  uisu  priuatus  usqwe  ad  annum 
septimum,  mutus  autem  et  uerba  humana  non  proferens  usqwe 
ad  annum  etatis  sue  tricesimum.  Huius  debilitatis  incomodum 
non  solum  rex,  &ed  eciam  regni  proceres,  supra  qwam  dici  potest 
moleste  sustinuerunt.  Cum  enim  imineret  pa^ri  etas  senilis,  et 
ignoraret  diem  mortis  sue,  nesciebat  quern,  alium  sibi^  con- 
stitueret  heredem  et  regni  successorem.  Quidam  aMem  pri- 
mari^^s  regni,  cui  nomen  Eiganus^,  cum  quodam  suo  complice 
Mitunno  nomiwe,  ambiciosus  cum  ambic^oso,  seductor  cum 
proditore  uidens  regem  decrepitum,  et  sine  spe  prolis  procreande 
senio  fatiscentem,  de  se  presumens,  cepit  ad  regie  dignitatis 
culmen  aspirare,  contemptis  aliis  regni  primatibws,  se  solum 
pre  ceteris  ad  ]ioc  dignum  reputando. 

Iccirco  diebus  singulis  regi  molestus  nimis,  proterue  eum 
aggreditur,  ut  se  heredis  loco  adoptaret.  Aliqwando  cor  regis 
blande  alliciens,  interim  aspere  minis  et  terroribus  prouocans, 
persuadere  non  cessat  regi  qi/od  optabat^.  Suggerebat  eciam 
regi  per  uiros  potentes,  complices  cupiditatis  et  malicie  sue,  se 
regni  sui  summum  apicem,  uiolentia  et  terrorib^^5  et  ui  extor- 
quere,  nisi  arbitrio  uoluntatis  sue  rex  ip^e  pareret,  faciendo 
uirtutem  de  necessitate.  Super  hoc  itaq?^e  et  aliis  regni  negociis, 
euocato  semel  concilio,  proteruus  ille  a  rege  reprobatus  discessit 
a  curie  presentia,  iracundie  calore  fremews  in  semetipso,  pro 
repulsa  qwam  sustinuit. 

Nee  mora,  accitis  mwltis  qui  contra  regis  imperium  partem 
suam  cowfouebant,  infra  paucos  dies,  copiosum  immo  infinitum 
excercitum  cowgregauit:  et  sub  spe  uictorie  uiriliter  optinende, 
regem  et  suos  ad  hostile  prelium  prouocauit.  Rex  au^em  con- 
fectus  senio,  time9^s  rebellare,  declinauit  aliquociens  impetus 
aduersariorwm.  Tandem  uero,  conuocatis  in  unum  principibws 
et  magnatibw5  suis,  deliberare  cep^^t  quo  iacto  opus  habeiet. 
Dum  igitur  tractarent  in  commune  per  aliqwot  dies,  secum 
deliberantes   instantissime  necescitatis  articulum,  affuit  inter 

1  A  repeats  sibi  after  constitueret. 

2  Hie  Riganus  binomin[i]8  fuit.  Vocabatwr  enim  alio  nomine  Aliel.  Riganws 
uero  a  rigore.  Huic  erat  filiws  Hildebrandtt*,  miles  strenuus,  ab  ense  sic  dic^ws. 
Huwc  uoluit  pater  promouere :  Contemporary  rubric  in  A,  inserted  in  the  middle 
of  the  sketch  representing  Riganus  demanding  the  kingdom  from  Warmundus. 

»  optat,  B. 


PLATE  V 


o 
pq  O 


IB 


K      pQ 


Offa  miraculotLsly  gains  his  speech  219 

Fol.  26sennoci|nantes  natus  et  unigenitus  regis,  eo  usqwe  elinguis  et 
absque  sermone,  sed  aure  purgata,  singulorum  uerba  discernens. 
Cum  autem  pa^ris  senium,  et  se  ipswm  ad  regni  negocia  qi<asi 
inutilem  et  minus  efficacem  despici  et  reprobari  ab  omnihus 
perpenderet,  contritus  est  et  humiliatus  in  semetip^o,  usqwe  in 
lacrimarum  aduberem  profusionem.  Et  exitus  aqt«arum  de- 
duxerunt  oculi  eius;  et  estuabat  dolore  cordis  intrinsecus 
amarissimo.  Et  qwam  uerbis  now  poterat,  deo  affec^u  intrinseco 
precordiakYer  suggerebat,  ingemiscens,  reponewsqwe  lacrimabilem 
qwerelam  coram  ipso,  orabat  ut  a  spiritu  sancto  reciperet  con- 
solacionem,  a  paire  luminum  fortitudinem,  et  a  filio  pa^ris 
unigenito  sapiewae  salutaris  donatiuum.  In  breui  igitur, 
contriti  cordis  uota  prospiciens,  is,  cui  nuda  et  aperta  sunt  omnia, 
resoluit  os  adolescentis  in  uerba  discreta  et  manifesto  articulata. 
Sicqi/e  de  regni  principatu  tumide  et  minaciter  contra  se  et 
pa^rem  suum  perstrepentes,  subito  et  ex  insperato  alloquitur: 
"Quid  adhuc  me  et  pai^re  meo  superstite  contra  leges  et  iura 
"nobis  uendicatis  regni  indicium  enormiter  contrectare:  et  me 
"excluso,  herede  geneali,  alium  degenerem  facinorosum  eciam 
"in  minas  et  diffiduciacionem  superbe  nimis  prorumpentem, 
"subrogare  ut  uos  non  immerito  iniquitatis  et  prodic^onis  arguere 
"valeamw5.  Quid,  inqwam,  exteri,  qwid  ex^ranei  contra  nos 
"agere  debeant,  cum  nos  affines  et  domestici  nostTi  a  pa^ria  qwam 
"hactenus  generis  nostii  successio  iure  possedit  hereditario, 
"uelitis  expellere?"  Et  dum  hec  Offanus  uel  Offa  (hoc  enim 
nomen  adolescentulo  erat)  qui  iam  nunc  primo  eterno  nomine 
cum  bened[^]c[^]onis  memoria  meruit  intitulari,  ore  facundo, 
sermone  rethorico,  uultu  sereno  prosequeretwr,  omnium  audien- 
tium  plus  qwam  dici  potest  attonitorum  oculos  facies  et  corda 
in  se  conuertit.  Et  prosequens  inceptum  sermonem,  eoritinuan- 
do  mtion^m,  ait  (intuens  ad  superna):  "Deum  testor,  omwesqwe 
"celestis  curie  primates,  quod  tanti  sceleris  et  discidii  incentores, 
"(ntsi  qui  ceperint  titubare,  uiriliter  erigantur  in  uirtutem 
"pristinam  roborati)  indempnes  (pro  ut  desides  et  formidolosi 
"promeruerunt)  ac  impunitos,  non  paciar.  Fideles  autem,  ac 
"strenuos,  omni  honore  proseqwar  [et]  cowfouebo." 

Audito  igitur  adolescentis  sermone,  qwem  mutum  estimabant 
vanum  e^  inutilem,  cowsternati  admodum  et  conterriti,  ab  eius 


220  The  Life  of  O^a  I 

presencia  discesseruwt,  qwi  contra  pa^rem  suum  et  ipswm,  mota 
sedicione,  ausu  temerario  conspirauerant.  Rigani^5  tamen,  contu- 
max  et  superbus,  comitante  Mittunno  cum  aliis  complicibus  suis, 
qui  iam  iram  in  odium  co^uerterant,  minas  minis  recessit  cumu- 
lando,  regemqwe  delirum  cum  filio  suo  inutili  ac  vano  murione, 
frontose  diffiduciauit.  Econtra,  naturales  ac  fideles  regis,  ipsius 
Fol.  3  a  minas  paruipendewtes,  immo  |  uilipendentes,  inestimabili  gaudio 
perfusi,  regis  et  filii  sui  pedibus  incuruati,  sua  suorwmqwe  cor- 
pora ad  uindicandam  regis  iniuriam  exponunt  gratanter  uni- 
uersi.  Nee  mora,  rex  in  sua  et  filii  sui  presentia  generali  edicto 
eos  qui  parti  sue  fauebant  iubet  assistere,  uolens  communi 
eorwm  consilio  edoceri,  q^^aliter  in  agendis  suis  procedere  et 
negocia  sua  exequi  habeat  conuenienter.  Qui  super  hiis  diebus 
aliquot  deliberantes,  inprimis  consulunt  regi  ut  filium  suum 
moribws  et  etate  ad  hoc  maturum,  militari  cingulo  f aciat  insigniri : 
vt  ad  bellum  procedens,  hostibus  suis  horrori  fieret  et  formidini. 
Rex  autem  sano  et  salubri  consilio  suorum  obtemperans,  celebri^ 
ad  hoc  condicto  die,  cum  soUempni  et  regia  pompa,  gladio  filium 
suum  accinxit;  adiunctis  tirocinio  suo  strenuis  adolescentibws 
generosis,  quos  rex  ad  deci^s  et  gloriam  filii  sui  militarib^^s  indui 
fecit,  et  honorari. 

Cum  autem  post  hec^,  aliqt^andiu  cum  sociis  suis  decertans, 
instrumenta  tiro  Offanus  experiretur,  omnes  eum  strenuissimum 
et  singulos  superantem  uehementer^  admirabanti^r.  Rex  igitt^r 
inde  maiorem  assumens  audaciam,  et  in  spem  erectus  alacriorem, 
communicato  cum  suis  consilio,  contra  hostes  regni  sui  insidia- 
tores,  immo  iam  manifeste  contra  regnum  suum  insurgentes, 
et  inito  certamine  aduersantes,  resumpto  spmYu  bellum  instaurari 
precep^t.  Potentissim^^s  autem  ille,  qui  regnum  sibi  usurpare 
moliebatur,  cum  filiis  suis  iuuenibws  dnohus,  uidelicet  tironibt^s 
strenuissimis  Otta  et  Milione  nominatis,  ascita  quoqwe  non 
minima  multitudine,  mchiloBimus  audacter  ad  rebellandum, 
se  suosque  premunire  cepit,  alacer  et  iiaiperterntus.  Et  pre- 
liandi  diem  et  locum,  hinc  inde  rex  et  eius  emulus  determinarunt. 
^  Congregato  itaqi/e  utrobiqwe  copiosissimo  et  formidabili 
nimis  excercitu,  parati  ad  congressum,  fixerunt  tentoria  e 
regione,  nichilqwe  intererat  nisi  fluuiw5  torrens  in  medio,  qui 
^  celebri,  B;  celibri,  A.  2  y^qq^  j^^  s  ueheementer,  A. 


Battle  with  the  rebels  221 

utrumqwe  excercitum  sequestrabat.  Et  aliqi^andiu  hinc  mde 
meticulosi  et  consternati,  rapidi  fluminis  alueum  interpositum 
(qui  uix  erat  homini  uel  equo  transmeabiKs)  transire  distulerunt. 
Tela  tamen  sola,  cum  crebris  comminac^onibus  et  conuiciis, 
transuolarunt.  Tandem  indignatus  Offa  et  egre  f erens  probrose 
more  dispendia,  electis  de  excercitu  suo  robustioribi^s  et  bello 
magis  strenuis,  qwos  eciam  credebat  fideliores,  subitus  et  im- 
prouisus  flumen  raptim  pertransiens,  fac^o  impetu  uehementi^ 
et  repentino,  hostes  ei  obuiam  occurrerites,  preocupatos  tamen 
circa  ripam  flumwis,  plurimos  de  aduersariort^m  excercitu  con- 
triuit,  et  in  ore  gladii  trucidauit.  Primosqwe  onanes,  tribunes 
et  pnmicerios  potenter  dissipauit.  Cum  tamen  sui  commilitones, 
forte  uolentes  prescire  in  Offa  preuio  Martis  f ortunam,  segniter 
amnem  transmearent,  qui  latus  suum  tenebantur  suffulcire, 
p'ol.  3  6  et^  pocius  I  circumuallando  roborare,  et  resumpto  spm7u  uiuidiore, 
reliquos  om^es,  hinc  mde  ad  modum  nauis  uelificantis  et  equora 
uelociter  sulcantis,  impetuosissime  diuisit,  ense  terribiliter 
fulminante,  et  hostium  cruore  sepius  inebriato,  donee  sue  omnes 
acies  ad  ipswm  illese  et  indempnes  transmearerit.  Quo  cum 
penienirent  sui  commilitones,  congregati  circa  ipswm  dominium 
suum,  excercitum  magnum  et  fortem  conflauerunt.  Duces 
autewi  contrarii  excercitus,  sese  densis  agminibt^s  et  consertis 
aciebus,  uiolenter  opponu^it  aduentantibw^.  Et  congressu 
inito  cruentissimo,  acclamatum  est  utrobiqwe  et  exhortatum, 
ut  res  agatur  pro  capite,  et  certamen  pro  sua  et  uxorum  suarwm, 
et  liberorwm  suorwm,  et  possessionum  liberac^one,  iiieawt  iustissi- 
mum,  auxilio  diuino  protegente.  Perstrepunt  igitur  tube  cum 
lituis,  clamor  exhortantium,  equorwm  hmmtus,  morientium 
et  uulneratorwm  gemitus,  fragor  lancearum,  gladiorum  tinnitus, 
ictuum  tumultus,  aera  pertwrbare  uidebantwr.  /Aduersarii 
tandem  Offe  legiones  deiciunt,  et  in  fugam  dissipatas  conuertunt. 
Quod  cum  videret  Offa  strenuissimws,  et  ex  hostium  cede 
cruentw5,  hausto  spmiu  alacriori,  in  hostes,  more  leonis  et 
leene  sublatis  catulis,  irruit  truculenter,  gladium  suum  cruore 
hostili  inebriando.  Quod  cum  uiderent  trucidandi,  fugitiui  et 
meticulosi  pudore  confusi,  reuersi  suiit  super  hostes,  et  ut  famam 
redimerent,  ferociores  in  obstantes  fulminant  et  debacantwr. 
*  ueheementi,  A.  2  eciam,  B. 


222  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

Multoqwe  tempore  truculenter  nimis  decertatum  est,  et 
utrobiq^^e  suspensa  est  uictoria ;  tandem  ^ost  multorwm  ruinam, 
hostes  fatigati  pedem  retulerunt,  ut  respirarent  et  pausarerit 
i^ost  cowflictum.  "^ 

Similiter  eciam  et  excercitus  Offani.  Quod  tamen  moleste 
nimis  tulit  Offanw^,  cuius  sanguis  in  ulc^onem  estuabat,  et  inde- 
fessus  propugnator  cessare  erubescebat.  Hie  casu  Offe  obuiant 
duo  filii  diuitis  illi^^5,  qui  regnum  pa^ris  eius  sibi  attemptauit 
usurpare.  Nomen  primogenito  Brutus  [sive  Hildebrandus]^  et 
iuniori  Sueno.  Hii  probra  et  uerha,  turpia  in  Offam  irreuerenter 
ingesserunt,  et  iuueni  pudorato  in  cowspectu  excercituum,  non 
minus  serinonihus  qwam  armis,  molesti  extiterunt.  Offa  igitwr, 
mag^5  lacessitus,  et  calore  audacie  scintillans,  et  iracundia  usque 
ad  fremitum  succensus,  in  impetu  spmYws  sui  in  eosdem  audacter 
irruit.  Et  eorwm  alterum,  videlicet  Brutum,  unico  gladii  ictu 
percussit,  amputatoqwe  galee  cono,  craneum  usque  ad  cerebri 
medullam  perforauit,  et  in  morte  singultantem  sub  eqwinis 
"pedihus  potenter  precipitauit.  Alterum  uero,  qui  hoc  uiso  fugam 
iniit,  repentin^^5  inseqwens,  uulnere  letali  sauciatum,  co^itemp- 
sit  et  prostratum.  Post  hec^  deseuiens  in  ceteros  contrsnii 
excercitus  duces,  gladii^s  Offe  qwicqwid  obuiam  ha^uit  proster- 
nendo  deuorauit,  excercitu  ip^ii^^  tali  exemplo  leceucius  in 
hostes  insurgente,  et  iam  gloriosius  triumphante. 

Pater,  uero,  ipredictoium  iuuenum,  perterrit^(5  et  dolore 
intrinseco  sauciatus,  subterf ugiens  amnem  oppositum,  nitebat^^r  I 
Fol.  4apertransire:  sed  interfec^orum  sanguine  torre?^s  fluuius,  eum 
loricatum  et  armorwm  pondere  grauatum  et  multipk'c^Yer  fati- 
gatum,  cum  multis  de  suo  excercitu  simili  incomodo  prepeditis, 
ad  ima  submersit,  et  sine  uulneribw^,  miseras  animas  exalarunt 
proditores,  toti  posteritati  sue  probra  relinqwentes.  Amnis 
autem  a  Rigano  ibi  submt^rso  sorciebatur  uocabulum,  et  Rigan- 
burne,  vt  iacti  uiuat  perpetuo  memoria,  nuncupatt^r.  [Hiic  alio 
nomine  Auene  dicitwr.]^ 

Reliqui  autem  omnes  de  excercitu  Rigani  [qui  et  Aliel  dice- 
batur]^  qui  sub  ducatu  Mitunni  regebantur,  in  abissum  despera- 
c^onis  demersi,  et  timore  effeminati,  cum  eorum  duce  in  quo 

1  Added  in  margin  in  A;  not  in  B.  2  j^qc  omitted,  B. 

*  Added  in  margin  in  A;  not  in  B. 


Triumph  of  Offa  223 

magis  Riganws  confidebat,  in  noctis  crepusculo  trucidati,  cum 
uictoria  gloriosa  campum  Offe  strenuissimo  (m  nulla  parte 
corporis  sui  deformiter  mutilato,  nee  eciam  uel  letaliter  uel 
periculose  uulnerato,  licet  ea  die  multis  se  letiferis  opposuisse^ 
periculis)  reliquerunt^. 

Sicque  Offe  circa  iuuentutis  sue  primicias,  a  Domino  data 
est  uictoria  in  bello  nimis  ancipiti,  ac  cruentissimo,  et  inter 
alienigenas  uirtutis  et  industrie  sue  nomen  celebre  ipsius 
uentilatum,  et  odor  longe  lateqwe  bonitatis  ac  ciuilitatis,  nee  non 
et  strenuitatis  eius  circumfusus,  nomen  eius  ad  sidera  subleuauit. 

Porro  in  crastinum  post  uictoriam,  hostium  spolia  inter- 
iectonim  et  iugitiuoxum  magnifice  co^itempnens,  nee  sibi  uolens 
aliqwatenus  usurpare,  ne  qwomodolibei  auaricie  turpiter  redar- 
gueretur,  militibus  suis  stipendiariis,  et  naturalibws  suis  homini- 
hus  (precipue^  hiis  quos  nouerat  indigere)  liberaliter  dereliqwit. 
Solos  tamen  magnates,  quos  ip^emet  in  prelio  ceperat,  sibi 
retinuit  incarcerandos,  redimendos,  uel  iudicialiter  puniendos. 
lussitqwe  ut  interfectorwm  duces  et  principes,  quorwm  fama 
titulos  magnificauit,  et  precipue  eorwm  qui  in  prelio  magnifice 
ac  fideliter  se  habuerant  (licet  ei^  aduersarentur)  seorsum  honori- 
fice  intumularewtwr,  fac^is  eis  obsequiis,  cum  lamentactonibws. 
Excercitus  autem  popularis  cadauera,  in  arduo  et  eminenti  loco, 
ad  posteritatis  memoriam,  tradi  iussit  sepulture  ignobiliori. 
Vnde  locus  ille  hoc  nomine  Anglico  Qwalmhul*,  a  strage  uide- 
licet  et  sepultura  interfectorum  merito  meruit  intitulari. 

Multorwm  eciam  et  magnor^^m  lapidum  super  eos  struem 
excercitus  Offe,  uoce  preconia  iussus,  congessit  eminentem. 
Totaqwe  circumiacens  planicies^  ab  ipso  cruentissimo  certamine 
et  notabili  sepultura  nomen  et  titulum  indelebilem  est  sortita, 
et  Blodiweld^  a  saiiguine  interfectorwm  denominabatwr. 

Deletis  igitur  et  confusis  hostibws,  Offa  cum  ingenti  triumpho 
ac  tripudio  et  gloria  leuertitur  ad  propria.  Pater  uero  War- 
mnndus,  qui  sese  receperat  in  locis  tucioribus  rei  euentum 
expectans,  sed  iam  fausto  nuncio  certificatus,  comperiensqwe 
et  securus  de  carissimi  filii  sui  uictoria,  cum  ingenti  leticia  ei 

1  dereliqueruwt,  B.  ^  precipue  omitted,  B.  '  ei  omitted,  B. 

*  Qualmhul  vel  Qwalmweld  in  margin,  A. 

*  planies,  A:  planicies,  perhaps  corrected  from  planies,  B.  «  blodifeld,  B. 


224  The  Life  of  Offa  I        . 

procedit  obuius^:  et  in  amplexus  eius  diutissime  commoratus, 
Fol.  46  cowceptum  |  interius  de  filii  sui  palma  gaudium  tegere  non  uolens 
set  nee  ualens,  hmus  cum  lacnmis  exultactonis  prorupitNin 
vocem :  "  Euge  fili  dulcissime,  quo  affectu,  quaue  mentis 
"leticia,  laudes  tuas  prout  dignum  est  prosequar?  Tu  enim  es 
"spes  mea  et  subditori/m  iubilus  ex  i^sperato  et  exultacio.  In 
"te  spes  inopinata  meis  reuixit  temporibus;  in  sinu  tuo  leticia 
"mea,  immo  spes  pocius  tociws  regni  est  reposita.  Tu  pop^li 
"tocii^s  firmamentum,  tu  pacis  et  libertatis  mee  basis  et  stabile, 
"deo  aspirante,  fundamentum.  Tibi  debetur  ruina  proterui 
"proditoris  iWius,  q?/ondam  publici  hostis  nostii,  qui  regni 
"fastigium  quod  mihi  et  de  genere  meo  propagatis  iure  debetur 
"  hereditario,  tarn  impudenter  qt^am  imprudenter,  contra  leges 
''et  ius  gentium  usurpare  moliebatur.  ^ed  uultus  dommi  super 
"eum  et  complices  suos  facientes  mala,  ut  perderet  de  terra 
"memoriam  eorum,  Deus  ulcionum  Domin^^s  dissipamt  con- 
"silium  ipsius.  l^sum  quoque  Riganum  in  superbia  rigentem, 
''et  immitem  Mitunnum  commilitonem  ipsius,  cum  excercitu 
''eoTum  proiecit  in  flumen  rapacissimum.  Descendunt  qwasi 
"plumbum  in  aqms  ueheme^^tibi^s ;  deuorauit  gladi^^s  tuus 
"hostes  nos^ros  fulmina^^s  et  cruentatws,  hostili  sanguine  magni- 
"fice  i^iebriatus;  non  degener  es  fili  mi  genealis,  se^  patnssans, 
"patrum  tuor^^m  uestigia  seqweris  magnificorum.  Sepultws  in 
"inferno  nosier  hostis  et  aduersarius,  fructus  viarum  suarum 
"condignos  iam  colligit,  quos  uiuus  promerebatur.  Luctum 
"et  miseriam  qwam  senectuti  mee  malignus  ille  inferre  dis- 
"posuerat,  uersa  nice,  dementia  diuina  conuertit  in  tripudium^. 
"Quamobrem  in  presenti  accipe,  quod  tuis  mentis  exigentib?/s 
"debetur,  eciam  si  filius  meus  non  esses,  et  si  mihi  iure  heredi- 
"tario  non  succederes;  ecce  iam,  cedo,  et  regnum  Anglorwm 
"uoluntatis  tue  arbitrio  deinceps  committo;  etas  enim  mea 
"fragilis  et  iam  decrepita,  regni  ceptrum  ulterius  sustinere  non 
"sufficit.  Iccirco  te  fili  desideratissime,  uicem  meam  suppler e 
"te  conuenit,  et  corpus  meum  senio  coniectnm,  donee  morientis 
"  oculos  clauseris,  quieti  tradere  liberiori,  vt  a  curis  et  seeularibi^s 
"  sollicitudinibus,  quibws  diseerpor  liberatus,  precibus  uacem  et 
' '  CO  wtemplac^oni.    Armis  hucusq^e  materialibi^s  dimicaui :  restat 

1  Gloria  triumphi,  in  margin,  A.  ^  tripudium,  B;  tripuduum,  A. 


Discourse  of  Wai^mundus  225 

"ut  de  cetero  uita  mea  ({ue  superest,  militia  sit  super  terram 
"contra  hostes  sp^'n7uales. 

^  "Ego  uero  pro  incolumitate  tua  et  regni  statu,  quod  stren- 
'uitati  tue,  0  anime  mee  dimidium,  iam  commisi,  pieces  quales 
''mea  sci[t]i  simplicitas  et  potest  imbecillitas, . Deo  fundam 
"indefessas.     ^ed  quia  tempt^s  perbreue  amodo  mihi  restat, 
''et  corpori  meo  solum  supeiest  sepulchrum,  aurem  benignam 
"meis  accomoda  salutaribus  consiliis,  et  cor  credulum  meis 
"monitis  iwclina  magnificis.     Uerum  ipsos  qui  nobiscum  contra 
Fol.  6a*'hostes  publicos,  Riganum  videlicet  et  Mitunnum  |  et  eoium 
"complices  emulos  nostioa  fideliter  steteiunt,  et  periculoso  dis- 
"  crimini  pro  nobis  se  opposuerwnt,  pa^erno  amore  tibi  commendo, 
"diligendos,  honorandos,  promouendos.     Eos  autem  qui  decre- 
"pite  senectutis  mee  membra  ^  debilia  coritemptui  lia6ere  ausi 
''sunt,  asserentes   uerba  mea  et  regalia  precepta  esse  senilia 
"  deliramenta,  presumentes  temere  apice  regali  me  priuato  te 
'^exheredare,  suspectos  habe  et  co9^temptibiles,  si  qui  sint  elapsi 
"ab  hoc  bello,  et  a  tuo  gladio  deuorante,  eciam  cum  eoium 
"postmtate:    ne  cum  in  ramusculos  uiius  pullulet,  a  radice 
"aliquid  cowsimile  t*6i  generetur  in  posterum.     Non  enim  recolo 
"me  talem  eoium  promeruisse,  qui  me  et  te  filium  meum  gratis 
"oderunt,  persecuc^nem.     Similiter  eos,  quos  d^'cri  proditores 
"pro  eo  quod  nobis  fideliter  adheserant,  exulare  coegerunt,  uel 
'*qui  impotewtes  rabiem  eoium  fugiendo  resistere,  ad  horam 
"  declinauerunt,    cum    omni    mansuetudiwe   studeas    reuocare, 
"et  honores  eoium  cum  possessionibt/5  ex  innata  tibi  regali 
"  munificentia,  gmcius  ampliare.     Laus  Industrie  tue  et  fame 
"preconia,  et  strenuitatis  tue  titulus,  que  adolescenciam  tuam 
"diuinitw5  illustraru/it,  in  posterum  de  te  maiora  prom^ttuwt. 
"Desideranti  animo  sicienter  affecto,  i^sumque  Deum,  qui  te 
"  t*6i,  sua  mera  gracm  reddidit  et  restaurauit,  deprecor  affectuose, 
"vt  has  iuuentutis  tue  primicias,  hoc  inopinato  triumpho  subar- 
"ratas,  melior  semper  ac  splendidior  operum  glorm  subseqwatur. 
"Et  procul  dubio  post  mortem  meam  (que  non  longe  abest, 
"iubente  Dom^no)  fame  tue  magnitude  per  orbem  uniuersum 
*'  dilatabitur,  et  felix  suscipiet  incrementum.     Et  que  Deo  placita 
"sunt,  opere  felici  consumabis,  que  diuinitus  prosperabuntwr.'* 
1  8ci8,  A,  B.  2  menbra,  A. 


C.  B. 


16 


226  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

Hec  autem  filius  deuotus  et  mansuetw^,  licet  magnificM^ 
triumphator  exaudisse^  et  intenta  aure  intellexisse^,  flexis  genibws 
et  iunctis  manibw5,  et  exundantibw^  oculis,  pa^ri  suo  grates^ 
rettulit  accumulatas.  Rex  itaqwe  per  fines  Anglie  missis  nunciis 
expeditissimis,  qui  ma^data  regia  detulenmt,  tocius  dicionis 
sue  conuocat  nobilitatem.  Que  conuocata  ex  iQgis  precepto, 
et  persuasione,  Offano  filio  suo  unigenito  ligiam  fecerunt  fideli- 
tatem  et  homagium  in  pa^ris  presencia.  Quod  et  omnes,  animo 
uolenti,  immo  gaudenti,  communiter  perfecerunt. 

Rex  igitur  qi^em  pocius  prona  voluntas,  qwam  uigor  prouexit 
€orporalis,  per  climata  regni  sui  proficiscitur  secures  et  leta- 
bundus,  nuUo  con^radicente,  uel  impediente,  ut  regni  munic^ones 
et  varias  possessiones,  diu  per  inimicos  suos  alienatas  et  iniuste 
ac  uiolenterpossessas,  ad  sue  dic^onis  reacciperet  iure  potestatem. 
Que  omma  sibi  sunt  sme  difficultate  uel  more  dispendio  restituta. 
Statimqwe  paier  filium  eorum  possessionibws  corporaliter  in- 
uestiuit;  et  pa^erno  contulit  affeciu  ac  gratuito,  procmbws 
Fol.  56  cowgauderi|tibw5  super  hoc  uniuersis.  Post  hec  autem,  Rex 
filio  suo  Offano  erarium  suum  adaperiens,  aurum  suum  et 
argentum,  uasa  concupiscibilia,  gemmas,  oloserica  omnia,  sue 
subdidit  potestati.  Sicqwe  subactis  et  subtractis  hostibus^ 
cunctis,  aliquandiu  per  uniuersum  regnum  uigujt  pax  et  securitas 
diu  desiderabilis. 

Rex  igitur  filii  sui  prosperitate  gauisus,  qui  eciam  diatim  de 
bono  in  melius  gradatim  ascendit,  aliquo  tempore  uite  sue  metas 
distulit  naturales:  iubilus  quoqwe  in  corde  senis  conceptus 
languores  seniles  plurimum  mitigauit.  Tandem  Rex  plenus 
dierum,  cum  benedicc*one  omnium,  qui  v^sum.  eciam  a  remotis^ 
partibi^5  per  famam  cognouerunt*,  nature  debita  persoluens 
decessit.  Et  decedens,  filio  suo  apicem  regni  sui  pacatum  et 
quietum  reliquit:  Offan?^s  autem  oculos  pa^ris  sui  pie  claudens, 
lamentaciones  mensurnas  cum  magnis  eiulatibus,  laCrimis  et 
specialib^«5  planctibw^  (prout  moris  tunc  erat  principibus  magni- 
ficis)  lugubriter  pro  tanto  funere  continuauit.  Obsequiisqwe 
cum  exequiis,  magnifice  tam  in  ecclesia  qusun.  in  locis  f orinsecis 
conpletis,  apparatu  regio  et  loco  celeberrimo  et  nominatissimo, 

1  graciaa,  B.  2  hosstibus,  A. 

3  romotis,  A.  *  cowgnouerunt,  A. 


Sorrows  of  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  York     227 

regibus  condigno,  videlicet  in  eminenciori  ecclesia,  penes  Glouer- 
niam  urbem  egregiam,  eidem  exhiberi  iubet  sepulturam. 
Offanus  autem  cum  moiibus  ommbus  foret  redimitus,  elegans 
corpore,  armis  strenuus,  munificus  et  benignus,  post  obitum 
pa^ris  sui  magnil&ci  Warmundi^,  cui^^s  mores  tractatus  exigit 
speciales,  plenarie  omninm  principum  Regni  dommium  suscipit, 
et  debitum  cum  omni  deuocione,  et  mera  uoluntate,  famulatum. 
Cum  igitur  cuiusdam  solempnitatis  arrideret  serenitas,  Offanus 
cum  sollempni  tripudio  omnibus  applaudentibus  et  faustum 

omen  acclamawtibus,  Anglie  diademate  feliciter  est  i/isignitw5, 

Adquiescens  igitur  seniorwm  co/isiliis  et  sapientum  persua- 
sionib?^5,  cepit  tocius  regni  irreprehensibikYer,  immo  laudabiliter, 
habenas^  modernanter  et  sapienter  gubernare.  Sic  igitur, 
subactis  hostibws  regni  uniuersis,  uiguit  pax  secura  et  firmata 
in  finibws  Anglorwm,  per  tempora  longa;  precipue  tamen  -per 
spacium  tempons  qmnquennale.  Erat  au^em  iam  triginta 
q^^atuor  annos  etatis  attingens,  annis  prospere  pubescentibw^. 

Et  cum  Rex,  more  iuuenili,  venatus  giacia  per  nemora  fre- 
quenter, cum  suis  ad  h.oc  conuocatis  uenatoribw5  et  canibus 
sagacibw5,  expeditus  peragrasset,  contigit  die  quadam  quod 
aere  turbato,  longe  a  suorwm  caterua  semotus,  solus  per  nemoris 
opaca  penitus  ipsorum  locor?^m,  necnon  et  fortune  ignaxus,  casu 
deambulabat.  Dum  autem  sic  per  ignota  diuerticula  iwcaucius 
oberraret,  et  per  inuia,  uocem  lacrimabilem  et  miserabiliter 
qi^erulam  haut  longe  a  se  audiuit.  Qmus  sonitum  secutus, 
'ol.  6  a  inter  densos  f rutices  |  virginem  singularis  forme  et  regii  apparatw^, 
B,ed  decore  uenustissimam,  ex  insperato  repperit.  Rex  uero  rei 
euentum  admirans,  que  ibi  ageret  et  querele  causas,  eam  blande 
alloqwens,  cepit  sciscitari.  Que  ex  imo  pectoris  flebilia  trahens 
suspiria,  regi  respondit  (neqwaqwam  in  auctorem  ^d  in  seip^am 
reatum  retorquens):  "Peccatis  meis"  inquit  "exigentibw5  in- 
"fortunii  hmus  calamitas  m.ihi  accidit."  Erat  autem  reguli 
cuiw^dam  filia  qwi  Eboracensibus  preerat.  ^uius  incompara- 
bilis  pulchritudinis  singularem  eminentiam  pa^er  admirans, 
amatorio  demone  seductus,  cep^t  eam  incestu  libidinoso  con- 
cupiscere,  et  ad  amorem  illicitum  sepe  sollicitare  ipsam  puellam, 


^  Warmandi,  A. 

*  habenas  repeated  after  regni  above  in  A,  but  cancelled  in  B. 


15—2 


228  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

minis,  poUicitis,  blanditiis,  atqwe  munenbus  adolescentule 
temptans  emollire  cowstantiam.  Ilia  autem  operi  nephario 
nullatenus  adquiescens,  cum  pa^er  tamen  minas  minis  exag- 
geraret^,  et  promissa  promissis  accumularet,  munera  munenbw^ 
adaugeret,  iuxta  illud  poeticum : 

Imperium,  promissa,  pieces,  conf udit  in  unum : 

elegit  magis  incidere  in  manus  homi9^um,  et  eciam  ferarum 
qualiumcunqwe,  vel  gladii  subire  sententiam,  qwam  Dei  offen- 
sam  incurrere,  pro  tam  graui  culpa  manifestam.  Pater  itaqi/e 
ipsam  sibi  parere  cowstanter  renuentem,  euocatis  quibusdam 
maligne  mentis  hominibws  quos  ad  hoc  elegerat,  precepit  eam 
in  desertum  solitudinis  remote  duci,  uel  pocius  trahi,  et  crude- 
lissima  morte  condempnatam,  bestiis  i6idem  derelinqwi.  Qui 
cum  in  locum  horroris  et  vaste  solitudinis  peruenissent, 
trahentes  eam  seductores  illi,  Deo  ut  creditur  inspirante, 
miserti  pulchntudinis^  illius  eam  ibidem  sine  t/•ucidac^one 
et  membrorwm  mutilac^'one,  uiuam,  secZ  tamen  sine  aliquorum 
uictualium  alimento  (exceptis  talibws  qui  de  radicibus  et 
frondibi^s  uel  herbis  colligi,  urgente  ultima  fame,  possunt) 
dimiserunt. 

Cum  Lac  rex  aliqttandiu  habens  sermonem,  comitem  itineris 
sui  illam  habuit,  donee  solitarii  cuiwsdam  llabitac^onem  reperis- 
sent,  ubi  nocte  s?/perueniente  quiescentes  pernoctauerunt.  In 
crastinum  autem  solitarius  ille  uiarum  et  semitarum  peritus, 
regem  cum  comite  sua  usqwe  ad  fines  domesticos,  et  loca  regi 
non  ignota^  conduxit.  Ad  suos  itaq?/e  rex  rediens,  desolate 
illius  qwam  nuper  inuenerat  curam  gerens,  familiaribi^s  et 
domesticis  generis  sui  sub  diligenti  custodia  commisit. 

Post  bee  aliqwot  annis  elapsis,  cum  rex  celibem  agens  uitam, 
mente  castus  et  corpore  perseueraret,  proceres  dic^onis  sue, 
non  solum  de  tunc  presenti,  ^ed  de  hxturo  sibi  periculo  pre- 
cauentes,  et  nimirum  multum  solliciti,  diominum.  suum  de  uxore 
ducenda  unanimiter  conuenerunt:  ne  sibi  et  regno  successorem 
et  heredem  non  habens,  post  obitum  ipsi?/5  iminens  penculum 
generaret.  Etatis  enim  iuuenilis  pubertas,  morum  maturitas, 
et  urgens  regni  necessitas,  necnow  et  honoris  dignitas,  itidem 
Fol.  66  postularunt.  |  Et  cum  super  hoc  negocio,  sepius  regem  sollici- 

1  exaggeret,  B.         ^  pulcritudims,  B;  piilchritudini,  A.         '  mgnota,  A. 


Offa's  wedding.    His  wars  in  the  North  229 

tarentur,  et  alloquerentur,  ip^e  multociens  ioculando,  et  talia 
uerba  asserendo  interludia  fuisse  uanitatis,  procerum  suorum 
constantiam  dissimulando  differendoq^«e  delusit.  Quod  quidam 
aduertentes,  communicato  cum  aliis  consilio,  regem  ad  nubendum 
incuntabiliter  urgere  ceperunt.  Rex  uero  more  optimi  principis, 
Gmus  primordia  iam  bene  subarrauerat,  nolens  uoluntati 
magnatum  suorwm  resistere,  diu  secum  de  thori  socia,  libra 
profunde  latioms,,  studiose  cepit  deliberare.  Cumqt^e  hoc  in 
mente  sua  sollicicius  tractaret,  uemt  forte  m  mentem  suam 
illius  iuuencule  memoria,  qwam  dudum  inter  uenandum  iwuenit 
uagabundam,  solam,  f eris  et  predonibus  miserabiliter  expositam : 
quam  ad  tuciora  ducens,  familiaribus  generis  sui  commiserat 
alendam,  ac  carius  custodiendam.  Que,  ut  rex  audiuit,  mori- 
hus  laudabiliter  redimita,  decoris  existens  expectabilis,  omnibus 
sibi  cognitis  amabilem  exhibuit  et  laudabilem;  hec  igitur  sola, 
relictis  multis,  eciam  regalis  stematis  sibi  oblatis,  complacuit; 
illamqi^e  solam  in  matrimonium  sibi  adoptauit. 

Cum  autem  eam  duxisset  in  uxorem,  non  interueniente 
mwlta  mora,  elegantissime  forme  utriusqwe  sexus  liberos  ex 
eadem  procreauit.  Itaqwe  cum  prius  esset  rex  propria  seueritate 
subditis  suis  formidabilis,  magnates  eius,  necnon  et  populus 
eius  uniuersus,  heredum  et  successor«/m  apparentia  animati, 
regni  robur  et  leticiam  geminarwnt.  Rex  quoque  ab  uniuersis 
suis,  et  non  solum  prope  positis,  immo  alienigenis  et  remotis, 
extitit  honori,  uen6rac^oni,  ac  dilecc^oni.  Et  cum  inter  se  in 
Britannia,  (qwe  tunc  temporis  in  plurima  regna  multiphariam 
diuisa  fuisset)  regwli  sibi  finitimi  hostiliter  se  impeterent,  solus 
Rex  Ofifa  pace  regni  sui  potitus  feliciter,  se  sibiqwe  swbditos  in 
pace  regebat  et  libertate.  Unde  et  adiacencium  prouinciarum 
reges  ems  mendicabant  auxilium,  et  in  neccessitatis  articulo, 
consilium. 

Rex  itQ.(\ue  Northamliimbror2/m,  a  barbara  Scotorwm 
gente,  et  eciam  dMquihus  suorwm,  grauiter  et  usqwe  ferme  ad 
inte/•nec^onem  percussus,  et  proprie  def  ensionis  auxilio  destitutus, 
ad  Off  am  regem  potentem  legatos  destinat;  et  pacificum  sup- 
plicans,  ut  presidii  eius  solacio  contra  hostes  suos  roboretur. 
Tali  mediante  condictone,  ut  Offe  filiam  sibi  matrimonio 
copularet,  et  non  se  proprii  regni,  se^  Offam,  primarium  ac 


230  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

principem  preferred,  et  se  cum  suis  ommb^^5  ipsi  subiugaret. 
Nichil  itaq^^6  dotis  cum  Offe  filia  rogitauit,  hoc  sane  contentus 
premio,  ut  a  regni  sui  finibus  barbaros  illos  potenter  et  frequenter 
experta  fugaret  strenuitate. 

Cum  autem  legatorum  uerba  rex  Offa  succepisset,  consilio 
Fol.  7asuorum  fretus  sup|plicantis  uoluntati  ac  precibus  adquieuit, 
si  tamen  rex  ille  pactum  huiusmodi,  tactis  sacrosaric^is  euuan- 
geliis^,  et  obsidum  tradic*one,  fideliter  tenendum  confirmaret. 
Sic  igitur  Rex  Offa,  super  hiis  condicionibw^  sub  certa  forma 
confirmatus,  et  ad  plenum  certificatus,  in  partes  illas  cum  equi- 
tum  numerosa  multitudine  proficiscitur.  Cum  autem  illuc 
peruenisse^,  timore  eius  consternata  pars  aduersa  cessit,  fuge 
presidio  se  saluando.  Quam  tamen  rex  Offa  audacter  prosecutus, 
non  prius  destitit  fugare  fugientem,  donee  eam  ex  integro 
contriuisset ;  ^ed  nee  eo  contentus,  vXteiius  progreditur,  bar- 
baros expugnaturus.  Interea  ad  patriam  suam  nuncium 
imperitum  destinauit,  ad  primates  et  precipuos  regni  sui, 
(\mhits  tocius  dic^onis  sue  regimen  commendauerat,  et  literas 
regii  sigilli  sui  munimine  consignatas^,  eidem  nuncio  commisit, 
deferendas.  Qm  autem  destinatus  fuit,  iter  arripiens  ugrsus 
Offe  regnum,  ut  casu  accidit  inter  eundum,  hospitandi  giacia, 
aulam  regiam  introiuit  iWius  regis,  cuius  filiam  Offa  sibi  ma^ri- 
momo  copulauerat.  Rex  Siutem  ille,  cum  de  statu  et  causa 
itineris  sui  subdole  requirendo  cognouisset,  uultus  sui  serenitate 
animi  uersuciam  mentitus,  specie  tenus  ilium  amantissime  sus- 
cepit:  et  uelamen  sceleris  sui  querens,  a  conspectu  publico  sub 
quodam  dileccionis  pretexu,  ad  regii  thalami  secreta  penetralia 
ipswm  nuncium  nichil  sinistri  suspicantem  introduxit :  magnoq?/e 
studio  elaborauit,  ut  i-psum,  uino  estuanti  madentem,  redderet 
temulentum,  et  ipso  nuncio  uel  dormiente  uel  aliquo  alio  modo 
ignorante,  mandata  dommi  sui  regis  Offe  tacitus  ac  subdolus 
apertis  et  explicatis  Uteris  perscrutabatur ;  cepitqwe  perniciose 
immutare  et  peruertere  sub  Offe  nomine  sigillum  adulteraws, 
fallacesqwe  et  perniciosas  literas  loco  inuentarum  occultauit. 
Forma  autem  adulterinarwm  [litevanum]^  hec  est  que  sub- 
scribitur* : 

^  euuangelii,  B.  2  cowsmgnatas,  A. 

*  from  B,  written  over  erasure.  *  scribt^Mr,  B. 


The  feigned  letter  231 

i"Rex  Offa,  maioribus  et  precipuis  regni  sui,  salutis  et 
"  prosperitatis  augmentum.  Uniuersitati  ues^re  notum  facio,  in 
"itinere  quod  arripui  infortunia  et  aduersa  plurima  tarn  michi 
"qwam  subditis  meis  accidisse,  et  maiores  excercitus  mei,  non 
"ignauia  propria,  uel  hostium  oppugnantium  uirtute,  set  pocius 
*'  peccatis  no^^ris  iusto  Dei  iudicio  interisse.  Ego  autem  instantis 
"periculi  causam  pertractaws,  et  consciencie  mee  intima  per- 
*'  scrutatus,  m  memetip^o  nichil  aliud  conicio  altissimo  displicere, 
"  nisi  quod  perditam  et  maleficam  illam  absque  meorum  consensu 
"uxorem  imperito  et  infelici  duxi  matrimonio.  Ut  ergo  de 
*'malefica  memorata,  uoluntati  uestro.  ad  plenum  qwam  temere 
"offendi  satisfiat,  asportetur  cum  libens  ex  ea  genitis  ad  loca 
M.  lb  "deserta,  loLommihus  incognita 2,  |  feris  et  auibw5  aut  siluestribus 

("predonibus  frequentata:  ubi  cum  pueris  suis  puerpera,  trun- 
"cata  manus  et  pedes,  exemplo  pereat  inaudito." 
Nuncius  autem  mane  facto,  uino  quo  maduerat  digesto, 
compos  iam  sui  effectus,  discessit:  et  post  aliquot  dies  per- 
ueniens  ad  propria,  magnatibi«5  qui  regno  regis  Offe  preerant 
literas  dommi  sui  sigillo  signatas  exposuit.  In  quarwm  auditu 
perlecta  mandati  serie,  in  stuporem  et  uehementissimam 
admirac^onem  uniuersi,  plus  qwam  dici  possit,  rapiuntur.  Et 
super  hiis,  aliquot  diebus  communicato  cum  magnatibus  con- 
silio  deliberantes,  periculosum  ducebant^  mandatis  ac  iussionibi/5 
rcgiis  non  obtemperare.  Misera  igitur  seducta,  deducta  est  in 
remotissimum  et  inhabitabilem  locum  borroris  et  uaste  solitu- 
dinis:  cum  qua  eciam  liberi  ^ms  miseri  et  miserabiles  queruli 
et  uagientes,  absqwe  jnisericordia,  ut  cum  ea  traherentwr  occiden- 
di,  indicium  acceperunt. 

Nee  mora,  memorati  apparitores  matrem  cum  pignorib?/s 
suis  in  desertum  uastissimum  trahebant.  Matri  uero  propter 
eius  formam  admirabilem  parcentes,  liberos  eius,  nee  forme, 
nee  sexui,  etati  uel  condicioni  parcentes,  detruncarunt  men- 
bratim,  immo  -pocius  frustatim*  crudeliter  in  bestialem  feritatem 
seuientes.  Completaqt/e  tam  crudeli  sentencia,  cruenti  appari- 
tores ocius  reuertuntwr.  Nee  mora,  solitarius  quidam  uitam 
in  omni  sanctitate,  uigiliis  assiduis,  ieiuniis  crebris,  et  continuis 

^  Ept><c>la,  in  margin,  A.  "  iwcongnita,  A. 

3  dicebant,  B.  *  frustratim.  A,  B 


232  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

oiatioxiihus,  ducens  heremiticam,  circa  noctis  crepusculum  eo 
pertransie/is,  mulieris  cuiusdam  luctus  lacrimabiles  et  querelas 
usqwe  ad  intima  cordis  et  ossuum^  medullas  penetratiuas,  quas 
Domiiiu^  ex  mortuorum  corporibws  licet  laceratis  elicuit, 
audiuit.  Infantulorumq^^e  uagitus  lugubres  nimis  cum  doloris 
ululatibus  quasi  in  materno  sinu  audiendo  similiter  annotauit. 
Misericordia  autem  aanctua  Dei  motus,  usque  ad  lacrimarum 
aduberem  effusionem,  quo  ipsa  uox  iipsum.  uocabat,  Domino 
ducente  peruenit.  Et  cum  illuc  peruenisset,  nee  aliud  qt^am 
corpora  humana  in  frusta  detruncata  reperisset,  cognouit^  in 
spm^u  ipsa  alicuius  innocentis  corpws,  uel  aliquorum  iwnocentium 
corpuscula  extitisse,  que  tam  inhumanam  sentenciam  subierunt. 
Nee  sine  martirii  palma,  ipsos  quorum  hee  fuerunt  exuuie,  ab 
hoc^  secwlo  transmigrasse  suspicabatur.  Auxilium  tamen  pro 
Dei  amore  et  caritatis  intuitu  postulatum  non  denegans,  se  pro 
illorum  reparacione  prostrauit  in  deuotissimam  cum  lacrimis 
oiacionem,  maxime  propter  uocem  celitus  emissam,  quam  pro- 
fecto  cognomt^  per  De^^m  lingwas  cadauerum  protulisse.  Piis 
^gi^wr  sanctus  commotus  uisceribws,  igneqwe  succensus  caritatis, 
ex  cognic*one*  eius,  quam.,  ut  iam  dictum.,  dudum  uiderat, 
Fol.  8  a  ha^uit,  iactus  hilarior,  pro  ipsis  |  flexis  gembus,  inundantibus 
oculis,  iunctisqwe  palmis  orauit,  dicens:  "Domme  Jesu  Chr^'s^e, 
"qui  Lazarum  quatriduanum  ac  fetidum  resuscitasti,  immo 
"  qui  omnium  nostroium.  corpora  in  extremo  examine  suscitabis, 
"uestram.  oro  misericordiam,  ut  non  habens  ad  me  peccatorem, 
"&ed  ad  horum  innocentum  pressuras  respectum  piissimum, 
"corpuscula  hee  iubeas  resuscitari,  ad  laudem  et  gloriam  tuam 
*'  in  sempiternum,  vt  omnes  qui  mortis  horum  causam  et  f ormam 
**  audierint,  te  glorificent  Deum  et  Dominum  mundi  Saluatorem." 
Sic  igitur  sanctus  iste,  Dommi  de  fidei  sue^  uirtute  in  Domino 
presumens  et  cowfidens,  inter  orandum,  membra  precisa  recolli- 
gens,  et  sibi  particulas  adaptans  et  coniungens,  et  in  quantum 
potuit  redintegrans,  in  parcium  q^«amplurimum,  set  in  integri- 
tatem  pocius  delectatws,  Domino  rei  consummac^'onem  qui 
mortificat  et  uiuificat  commendauit.  Coniuncta  igitur  corpora, 
signo    crucis    triumphali    consignauit.     Mira    fidei    uirtus    et 

^  ossium,  B.  2  congnouit,  A.  '  hoc  omitted,  B. 

*  cowgnicione,  A.  ^  sui,  A. 


OffaJs  return  home  233 

efficacia,  signo  crucis  uiuifice  et  oiationm  ac  fidei  send  Dei 
uirtute,  non  solum  ma^ris  orbate  animws  reparatwr,  ^ed  et  filiorwm 
corpwscula  in  pristinum  et  integrum  nature  sunt  reformata 
decorem,  necnon  et  anime  mortuorwm  ad  sua  pristina  domicilia 
sunt  reuerse.  Ad  mansiuncule  igitur  sue  septa  (a  qua  elongatus 
fuerat,  gracia,  lignorwm  ad  pulmentaria  deqwoquenda  colligen- 
doTum)  ipse  senex:  qui  prius  detruncati  fuerant,  Domino 
iubente  integri  uiui  et  aJacres  sunt  reuersi,  ducem  sanctum,  suum 
sequentes  pedetentim.  Ubi  more  patris,  ipsam  desolatam  cum 
liberis  sibi  ipsis  restitutis,  alimentis  quibus  potuit,  et  que  ad 
manum  habuit,  pie  ac  misericorditer  cowfouebat. 

Nesciens  ergo  quo  migraret  regina,  cum  suis  infantulis  intra 
uastissimam  heremum  cum  memorato  solitario,  diu  moram 
ibidem  oiationihuSj  uigiliis,  ac  aliis  Sanctis  operibus  eius  intenta 
et  iamiam  conuenienter  informata,  et  edulio  siluestri  sustentata, 
cowtinuabat.  Post  duorum  uero  mensium  curricula,  Eex  Olia 
uictoriosissimus  domum  letus  remeauit,  spolia  deuictorum  suis 
magnatibws  regali  munificentia  gloriose  distribuendo ;  uerun- 
tamen,  ne  lacrime  gaudia  regis,  et  eorum  qui  cum  eo  aduenerant, 
miserabiliter  interrumperent,  consiliarii  regii  qwe  de  regina  et 
liberis  eius  acciderant,  diu  sub  silenc^o  caute  dissimulando,  et 
causas  absencie  eius  fictas  annectendo,  cowcelabant.  Tandem 
cum  rex  uehementer  admiraretur  ubinam  regina  delituisset, 
qwe  ipsi  regi  ab  ancipiti  bello  reuertenti  occurrisse  gaudenter 
teneretur,  et  in  oscuks  et  amplexibws  ceteris  gaudentius  trium- 
phatorem  aduentantem  suscepisse,  sciscitabatur  instantiws,  et 
toruius  et  proteruius,  quid  de  ipsa  fieret  uel  euenisset.  Suspi- 
Fol.  8  h  cabatur  enim  eam  morbo  detentam,  ipsamqt^e  cum  liberis  |  suis, 
regis  et  aliorum  hominum,  ut  quieti  uacaret,  frequentiam 
declinasse.  Tandem  cum  iratus  nullatenus  se  uelle  ampliws 
ignorare,  cum  iuramento,  qwid  de  uxore  sua  et  liberis  euenisset, 
uultu  toruo  asseruisset,  unus  ex  edituis  omnia  que  acciderant, 
de  tirannico  eius  mandato,  et  mandati  plenaria  execuc^one, 
seriatim  enarrauit. 

Hiis  auditis,  risus  in  luctum,  gaudium  in  lamenta,  iubilus 
in  singultus  flebiliter  conuertuntur,  totaqwe  regia  ululatibus 
personuit  et  meroribws.  Lugensqwe  rex  diu  tam  immane  infor- 
tunium, induit  se  sacco  cilicino,  aspersum  cinere,  ac  multipliciter 


234  The  Life  of  Offa  I 

deformatum.  Tandem  monitu  suorum,  qui  dicebant  non 
uirorwm  magnificorwm  ^ed  pocius  effeminatorww,  dolorem  inter- 
iecto  solacio  nolle  temperare^,  esse,  proprium  et  co^isuetudinem, 
rex  cepit  respirare,  et  dolori  modum  imponere.  Consilio  igitur 
peritorum,  qui  nouerant  regem  libenter  m  tempore  prospero  in 
studio  uenatico  plurimum  delectari,  conuocantur  uenatores,  ut 
rex  spaciaturus  uenando,  dolorem  suum  diminueret  et  luctum 
solacio  demulceret.  Qui  inter  uenandum  dum  per  siluarum 
abdita,  Deo  misericordiarum  et  tocius  co?^solac[t]onis  ducente, 
feliciter  solus  per  inuia  oberrauit,  et  tandem  ad  heremitorium 
memorati  heremite  directe  peruenit,  eiusqwe  exiguum  domicilium 
subintrans,  humaniss[m]e  et  cum  summo  gaudio  receptus  est. 
Et  cum  humili  residens  sedili,  membra  ^  f atigata  quieti  daret  ad 
horam,  recolens  quaK^er  uxorem  suam  ibidem  quondam  diuinitus 
reperisset,  et  feliciter  educasset,  et  educatam  duxisset  \n  uxorem, 
et  qwam  elegantem  ex  ea  prolem  protulisset,  eruperunt  lacrime 
cum  gemitibus,  et  in  querelas  lugubres  ora  resoluens,  hospiti  suo 
sinistrum  de  uxore  sua  qui^  infausto  sidere  nuper  euenerat  quam 
et  ipse  quondam  viderat,  enarrauit.  At  senex  sereno  uultu, 
factus  ex  intrinsecus  concepto  gaudio  alacrior,  consolatus  est 
regem,  et  in  uocem  exultac^oms  eminus  prorumpens:  '^Eia 
"domme  mi  rex,  eia,  ait;  uere  Deus  misericordiar^^m,  Dominws, 
"famulos  suos  quasi  pa^er  filios  in  omni  tribulacione  ^ost  pres- 
"  suras  consolatur,  percutit  et  medetur,  deicit  ut  gloriosius  eleuet 
"  pregrauatum.  Uiuit  uxor  tua,  cum  liberis  tuis  in  omni  sospi- 
"tate  restauratis:  non  meis  meritis,  se^  pociws  tuis,  integritati, 
"  sanitati  et  leticie  pleni?/5  qui  trucidabantur  restituuntwr.  Re- 
"  cognosce*  quanta  fecit  tihi  Dommws,  et  in  laudes  et  graciaTum 
"acciones  totus  exurge."  Tunc  prosiliens  sanctus  pre  gaudio, 
euocauit  reginam,  que  in  interiori  diuerticulo,  pueros  suos  balneo 
micius  ma^erno  studio  cowfouebat.  Que  cum  ad  regem  intro- 
Fol.  9  a  isset,  uix  se  |  gaudio  capiens,  pedibus  mariti  sui  prouoluta,  in 
lacrimis  exultacionis  inundauit.  In  cuius  amplexus  desidera- 
tissimos  ruens  rex,  ipsam  in  mains  q^^am  dici  possit  gaudium 
suscepit.  Interim  senex,  pueros  elegantissimos  et  ex  abluc^one 
elegantiores,  uestit,  comit,  et  pa^erno  more  et  afEec^u  componit, 
et  ad  presentiam  pa^ris  et  matris  introducit.     Quos  pater  intra 

1  obtemperare,  B.      ^  menbra.  A.      ^  qui,  AB;  quae,  Wats.     *  recowgnosce,  A. 


Offa's  vote  and  death  235 

brachia  suscipiens,  et  ad  pectus  arctioribws  amplexibw^  applicans, 
roseis  uultibi^s  infantum  oscula  imprimit  m^^ltiplicata ;  quos 
tamen  rore  lacnmarum,  pre  nimia  mentis  exultac^one,  made- 
fecit.  Et  cuw  diucius  eorum  colloquiis  pasce^et^^r,  co^^uersus 
rex  ad  senem,  ait:  "0  -patei  sancte,  -pater  dulcissime^,  mentis 
*'mee  reparator,  et  gaudii  cordis  mei  restaurator,  qua  merita 
"ues^ra,  caritatis  officia,  pietatisqwe  beneficia,  proseqwar  re- 
"  munerac[t]one  ?  Accipe  ergo,  licet  mwlto  maiora  exigant 
*' merita  tua,  q?/icqwid  erarium  meum  ualet  effundere;  me,  meos, 
"et  mea,  tue  expono  uoluntati."  At  sajictus,  "Domne  mi  rex, 
"non  decet  me  peccatorem  conuersum  ad  Dominum,  ad  insanias 
*'quas  reliqui  falsas  respicere.  Tu  uero  pocius  pro  ammabws 
"pa^ris  tui  et  matris  tue,  quibws  quandoque  caius  fueram  ac 
''familiaris,  et  tua,  et  uxoris  tue,  et  liberorwm  tuorwm  corporali 
"sanitate,  et  salute  spm^uali,  regni  tui  soliditate,  et  successoritm 
"tuorwm  prosperitate,  Deo  gratus,  qui  tot  in  te  congessit  bene- 
"ficia,  cenobium  quoddam  fundare,  uel  aliquod  dirutum  studeas 
"restaurare:  in  quo  digne  et  laudabiliter  Deo  in  perpetuum 
"seruiatur;  et  tui  memoria  cum  precihus  ad  Dominum  fusis,  cum 
"  benediccionibw5  semper  recenter  recolatur."  Et  conuersus  ad 
reginam,  ait,  "Et  tu,  filia,  qt^amuis  mulier,  non  tamen  mulie- 
"briter,  ad  hoc  regem  accendas  et  admoneas  diligenter,  Gliosque 
"  tuos  instrui  facias,  ut^  et  Dominum  Deum,  qui  eos  uite  reparauit, 
"studeant  gratanter  honorare,  et  eidem  fideliter  famulando 
"fundandi  cenobii  possessiones  ampliare,  et  tueri  libertates." 
Descensus  ad  secundum  Ofiam. 
Sanctus  autem  ad  cellam  reuersus,  post  paucum  temporis  ab 
incolatu  huius,  mundi  migrauit  ad  Dominum,  mercedem  eternam 
pro  labore  temporali  recepturus.  Rex  au^em,  cito  monita  ipsius 
salubria  dans  obliuioni  et  incurie,  ex  tunc  ocio  ac  paci  uacauit: 
prolemqwe  copiosam  utriusqwe  sexus  expectabilis  pulchritudinis 
procreauit.  Unde  semen  regium  a  latere  et  descensu  felix  sus- 
cepit  incrementum.  Qui  completo  vite  sue  tempore,  post  etatem 
bonam  qwieuit  in  pace,  et  regaliter  sepultus,  appositus  est  ad 
patres  suos;  in  eo  multum  redarguendw^,  quod  cenobium^  uotiuo 
affeciu  repromissum,  thesauris  parcendo  non  construxit.     Post 

^  sancte  et  dulcissime,  B.  2  ^^  added  above  line,  A,  B. 

*  scenobium,  A;  the  s  is  erased  in  B. 


236  The  Life  of  Offa  II 

uictorias  enim  a  Dommo^  sibi  collatas,  amplexibws  et  ignauie 
necnon  auaricie  plus  equo  indulsit.  Prosperitas  enim  secularis, 
Fol.  96  animos,  licet  uir|iles,  solet  frequenter  eifeminare.  Ueru^tamen 
hoc  onus  humeris  filii  sui  moriturus  apposuit:  qui  cum  deuota 
assercione,  illud  sibi  suscepit.  ^ed  nee  ipse  Deo  auerso  pol- 
licita,  prout  pa^ri  suo  promiserat,  compleuit;  set  filio  suo  huius 
uoti  obligac*onem  in  fine  uite  sue  dereliquit.  Et  sic  memorati 
uoti  uinculum,  sine  efficacia  complementi  de  pa^re  in  filium 
descendens,  usq^/e  ad  tempora  Pineredi  filii  Tuinfreth  suspende- 
batur.  Quibus  pro  pena  negligentie,  tale  euenit  infortunium, 
ut  omwes  principes,  quos  Offa  magnificus  edomuerat,  a  subiec- 
c^'one  ipsius  Offe  et  posteritatis  sue  procaciter  recesseruwt,  et 
v^sum  moriente7>^  despexerunt.  Quia  ut  pred^'c^t^m  est,  ad  mor- 
tem uergens,  deliciis  et  senii  ualitudine  marcuit  eneruatus. 
Ui  De  ortu  secundi  Offe. 

Natus  est  igitur  memorato  Tuinfred[o]2  (et  qui  de  stemate 
regum  fuit)  filius,  videlicet  Pineredus,  usqi^e  ad  annos  adoles- 
centie  i/iutilis,  poplitibw5  contractis,  qui  nee  oculorwm  uel  aurium 
plene  officio  naturali  fungeretwr.  Unde  pa^ri  suo  Tmniredo  et 
matii  sue  Marcelline,  oneri  fuit  non  honori,  cowfusioni  et  non 
exultac^oni.  Et  licet  unicws  eis  fuisset,  mallent  prole  caruisse, 
q^^am  talem  habuisse.  JJevuntamen  memorie  reducentes  euen- 
tum  Offe  magni,  qui  in  tenera  etate  penitus  erat  inutilis,  et 
postea,  Deo  propicio,  penitws  sibi  restitutus,  mirabili  strenuitate 
omnes  suos  edomuit  aduersarios,  et  bello  prepote^is,  gloriose 
multociens  de  magnis  hostibi^s  triumphauit:  spem  conceperunt, 
quod  eodem  medico  medente  (Qhiisto  uidelicet,  qui  eciam  mor- 
tuos  suscitat,  propiciatus)  posset  similiter  uisitari  et  sibi  restitui. 
Pater  igitur  eiw5  et  matei  ipsum  puerum  inito  salubri  consilio, 
in  templo  presentaruwt  Domino,  votiua  deuoc^one  firmiter  pro- 
mittewtes:  "Ut  si  ii^sum  Deus  restauraret,  quod  parentes  eius 
"negligenter  omiserunt,  ipse  puer  cum  se  facultas  ofEerret  fide- 
"  liter  adimpleret" :  yidoiicet  de  cenobio^,  cuius  mencio  prelibata 
est,  honorifice  construendo:  uel  de  diruto  restaurando.  Et 
cum  hec  tam  puer  qwam  ipatei  et  mater  deuotissime  postularent, 
exaudita  est  ovatio  eorum  a  Deo,  qui  se  nuwqwam  difficilem 
exhibet  precibt/5  iustis  supplicantium,  hoc  modo. 

1  deo,  B  2  tuinfreth,  B,  3  scenobio.  A;  s  erased  B. 


Rise  of  the  Second  Offa  {Wine/red)  237 

QwomocZo  prosperabatwr. 

Erat  in  eadem  regione  (Merciorwm  uidelicei)  quidam  tirannus, 
pocius  destruens  et  dissipans  regni  nobilitatem,  qt^am  regews, 
nomine  Beormredus^.  Hie  generosos,  quos  regius  sanguis  pre- 
claros  [f ecerat]^,  usqwe  ad  internecionem  subdole  perseqwebatur, 
relegauit,  et  occulta  nece  perdidit  iugulandos.  Sciebat  enim, 
qwod  uniuersis  de  regno  merito  extitit  odiosus ;  et  ne  aliqwis  loco 
ipsius  subrogaretwr  (et  presertim  de  sangwine  regio  propagatus) 
uehementer  formidabat.  Tetendit  insuper  laqweos  Tuinfredo  et 
uxori  eius,  ut  ip^os  de  terra  expelleret,  uel  ^omis  perderet  truci- 
Fol.  lOadatos.  I  Puerum  autem  Pinefredum^  spreuit,  nee  ipswra  querere 
ad  perdendum  dignabatur;  reputaws  eum  inutilem  et  ualitudin- 
arium.  Fugientes  igitur  memoratw.9  Tuinfredus  et  uxor  eius  et 
familia  a  facie  pers^wentis,  sese  in  locis  tucioribus  receperunt, 
ne  generali  calumpnie  inuoluerentur.  Quod  comperiens  Pine- 
fredus  adolescens,  qt/asi  a  graui  sompno  expergef actus,  erexit  se: 
et  compagibw5  neruort^m  laxatis,  et  miraculose  protensis,  sese  de 
longa  desidia  redarguens,  fecit  alices,  brachia,  crura,  pedes,  ex- 
tendendo.  Et  aliquociens  oscitans,  cum  loqui  conaretur,  solu- 
tum  est  uinculum  lingue  eius,  et  loquebatur  recte,  uerba  pro- 
ferens  ore  facundo  prompcii/5  articulata.  Quid  plura?  de  con- 
tracto,  muto,  et  ceco,  fit  elegans  corpore,  eloquens  sermone,  acie 
perspicax  ocvloium.  Qui  tempore  modico  in  tantam  floruit  ac 
uiguit  strenuitatem,  ut  miWus  in  regno  Merciorwm,  ipsi  in  mori- 
hus  et  probitate  mwltiplici  ualuit  comparari,  unde  ipsi  Mercii, 
^Gundium.  Offam,  et  non  Pinefredum,  iam  nomiwantes  (quia  a 
Deo  respectus  et  electus  fuisset,  eodem  modo  quo  et  rex  Ofla 
filius  regis  Warmundi)  ceperunt  ipsi  quasi  Domino  uniuersaliter 
adherere;  ipsumque  iam  iactum  militem,  contra  regem  Beorm- 
redum  et  eius  insidias,  potenter  ac  prudenter  protegere,  dantes 
ei  dextras,  et  iedus  cum  ipso,  prestitis  iuramentis,  ineuntes. 
Quod  audiens  Beormredus,  doluit,  et  dolens  timuit  sibi  vehe- 
menter.  Penituitqwe  eum  amarissime,  ipsum  Pinefredum^  (qui 
iam  Offa  nominabatwr)  cum  ceteris  fraudulenter  non  intere- 
misse. . . . 

*         *         *         * 

^  de  tiranwide  Beormredi  regis  Mercie,  B, 
2  fecerat,  wanting  in  A;  added  in  margin,  B. 
^  Pinefredum,  B;  Penefrednm,  A,  but  with  i  above  in  first  case. 


238  The  Life  of  Offa  II 

Pol.  11a  Qualiter  Offa  rex  uxorem  duxerit. 

Diebus  itaqwe  sub  eisdem,  regnante  in  Francia  Karolo  rege 
magno  ac  uictoriosissimo,  quedam  puella,  facie  uenusta,  ^ed 
mente  nimis  ir^honesta,  ipsi  regi  cowsanguinea,  pro  quodam  qwod 
patrauerat  crimine  flagiciosissimo,  addicta  est  iudicialiter  morti 
ignominiose ;  uerum,  ob  regie  dignitatis  reuerentiam,  igni  uel 
ferro  tradenda  non  iudicatur,  ^ed  in  nauicula  ar  ma  mentis  ca- 
rente,  apposito  uictu  tenui,  uentis  et  mari,  eorumque  ambiguis 
csLsihus  exponitur  condempnata.    Que  diu  uariis^  procellis  exagi- 
tata,  tandem  fortuna  trahente,  litori  Britonum  est  appulsa,  et 
cum  in  terra  subiecta  potestati  regis  OfEe  memorata  cimba  ap- 
plicuiss€^,    conspectui   regis   -protinus   presentatwr.     Interogata 
Shutem  qwenam  esset,  respondens,  pa^ria  lingua  affirmauit,  se 
Karolo    regi    Fra>iiCOium   fuisse    co/^sangiAnitate   propinqwam, 
Fol.  ll6Dridamqi«6  nominatam,  sed  per  tirannidem  J  quorwwdam  igno- 
bilium  (quorum  nuptias  ne  degeneraret,  spreuit)  tali  fuisse  dis- 
crimini  adiudicatam,  abortisqwe  lacrimis  addidit  dice/is,  "Deus 
autem    qui    innocentes    a    laqweis    insidia?^tium    liberat,    me 
captiuam  ad  alas  tue  protec^onis,  o  regum  serenissime,  f eliciter 
transmisit,  vt  meum  infortunium,  in  auspicium  fortunatum 
transmutetwr,  et  beatior  in  exilio  qt^am  in  natali  pa^ria,  ab 
omni  predicer  posteritate." 
Rex  au^6m  uerbor^^m  suort^m  ornatum  et  eloqwentiam,  et 
corporis  puellaris  cultum  et  elegantiam  considerans  ^,  motus  pie- 
tate,  precepit  ut  ad  comitissam  Marcellin[am]^  matrem  suam 
tucius  duceretur  alenda,  ac  mitius  sub  tam  honeste  matrone 
custodia,  donee  regium  mandatum  audiret,  confouenda.     Puelle 
igitur  infra  paucos  dies,  macie  et  pallore  per  alimenta  depulsis, 
rediit  decor  pristinus,  ita  ut  mulierum  pulcherima  censeretur. 
Sed  cito  in  uerba  iactantie  et  elac^onis  {secundum,  pa^rie  sue 
co?^suetudinem)  prorumpens,  domine  sue  comitisse,  que  mateTno 
afiec^u  eam  dulciter  educauerat,  molesta  nimis  fuit,  ipsam  pro- 
caciter  contempnendo.     Sed  comitissa,  pro  amore  filii  sui  regis, 
omma  pacienter  tolerauit :  licet  et  ipsa  dicta,  puella,  inter  comitem 
et  comitissam  uerba  discordie  seminasset.     Una  igitur  dierum, 
cum  rex  ipsam  causa  uisitac^onis  adiens,  uerhis  corisolatoriis 

^  uariis  repeated.  A;  second  variis  cancelled^  B. 

2  considerans,  B,  inserted  in  margin;  omitted,  A. 

3  Marcelline,  A;  Marcett,  B. 


Offa  weds  Drida.    Her  crimes  239 

alloqweretur,  incidit  in  retia  amoris  illius;  erat  enim  iam  spectes 
illius  coTicupiscibilis.  Clandestino  igitur  ac  repentino  ma^ri- 
monio  ip^am  sibi,  mcowsultis  pa^re  et  matte,,  necnon  et  magnatibws 
suis  uniuersis,  copulauit.  Unde  uterque  parentum,  dolore  ac 
tedio  in  etate  senili  contahescens,  dies  uite  abreuiando,  sue  mortis 
horam  lugubriter  anticiparuwt ;  sciebant  enim  ipsam  mulier- 
culam  f uisse  et  regalibus  amplexibus  prorsus  indignam ;  perpen- 
debantqwe  iamiam  ueracissime,  non  sine  causa  exilio  lacrimabili, 
ipsam,  ut  -piedictum.  est,  fuisse  conde[m]pnatam.  Cum  autem 
annos  longeue  senectutis  vixisset^  comes  Tuinfredus,  et  i^re 
senectute  caligassewt  oculi  eius,  data  filio  suo  regi  bened^cione, 
nature  debita  persoluit;  emus  corpus  magnifice,  prout  decuit, 
tradidit  sepulture.  Anno  qaoque  sub  eodem  uxor  eius  comitissa 
Marcellina,  mater  uidelice^  regis,  valedicens  filio,  ab  huius  in- 

colatu  seculi  f eliciter  trawsmigrauit 

M.  19  a  De  sancto  Mlherto^  cui  tercia  filia  regis  Offe 

tradenda  fuit  nuptui. 
Erat  qaoque  quidam  iuuenis,  cui  rex  Offa  regnum  Orientalium 
Anglori^m,  quod  eum  iure  sanguinis  cowtiwgebat,  cowcesserat, 
nomine  ^Elbertus.     De  cuius  virtutibus^  qwidam  uersificator, 
solitus  regum  laudes  et  gesta  describere,  eleganter  ait; 
Mlhertus  iuuenis  fuerat  rex,  fortis  ad  arma. 
Pace  pius,  pulcher  corpore,  mente  sagax. 
Cumque  Humbertw^  Aichieipiscopus  Lichefeldensis,  et  Vnwona 
'E-pisco'pus  Legrecestrensis,  uiri  sancti  et  discreti,  et  de  nobili 
stirpe  Merciorwm  oriundi,  speciales  essent  regis  cowsiliarii,  et 
semper  que  honesta  erawt  et  iusta  atqwe  utilia,  regi  Offe  sug- 
gessissent,  inuidebat  eis  regina  uxor  Off e,  que  prius  Drida,  postea 
uero  Quendrida,  id  est  regina  Drida,  quia  regi  ex  insperato 
nupsit,  est  appellata:  sicut  in  precedentibt^5  plenii/5  enarratwr. 
Mulier  auara  et  subdola,  superbiens,  eo  quod  ex  stirpe  Karoli 
originem  duxerat,  et  inexorabili  odio  uiros  memoratos  perseqi^e- 
batur,  tenders  eis  muscipulas  muliebres.     Porro  cum  ipsi  reges 
suprad^c^os  regi  Offe  in  spm^u  consilii  salubriter  recowciliassent, 
et  ut  eidem  regi  federe  ma^rimoniali  specialiw5  coniungerenti/r, 
diligenter  et  efficaciter  procurassent,  ipsa  mulier  iacta,  eorum 

1  vixisset,  B,  inserted  in  margin;  omitted,  A.  ^  Alberto,  etc.  passim,  B. 

'  virtutibus,  in  margin,  later  hand,  A ;  in  B,  over  erasure. 


240  The  Life  of  Offa  II 

nitebatwr  in  irritum  reuocare,  nee  poterat,  quib?^5  acriter  in- 
uidebat.  Ipsas  enim  puellas  filias  suas,  ultramarinis,  alieni- 
genis,  in  regis  supp]antac^onem  et  regni  Mercioiam  perniciem, 
credidit  tradidisse  maritawdas.  Qums  rei  prescii  ddcti  Ep^^scopi, 
muliebre  co?isilium  prudencie  repagulis  impediebant.  Uerum  et 
adhuc  tercia  filia  regis  Offe  in  thalamo  regine  remansit  mari- 
tanda,  ^Ifleda  nomine.  Procurantib^^s  igitur  suprad^cris  e^is- 
cofi&i  inclinatum  est^  cor  regis  ad  cowsensum,  lice^  cow^radiceret 
regina,  ut  et'^  hec  regi  Mlherto  nuptui  tisideretur:  ut  et  sic  speci- 
alises regi  Offe  teneretur  in  fidelitate  dileci^onis  obligatus. 
Uocatws  igitur  rex  Mlhertus,  a  rege  Offa^  ut  filiam  suam  despon- 
Fol.  196  saret,  affuit  festiu?/5  |  et  gaudens,  ob  honorem  sibi  a  tanto  rege 
oblatum.  Cui  amicabiliter  rex  occurrens  aduentanti,  recepit 
ipswm  in  osculo  et  paterno  amplexu,  dicens:  "Prospere  ueneris 
"fili  et  gener,  ex  hoc,  iuuenis  amantissime,  te  in  filium  adopto 
*'specialem."  ^ed  hec  postq^eam  efferate  regine  plenius  in- 
notuertt^,  plus  accensa  est  liuore  ac  furore,  dole^ts  eum  pietatis 
in  manu*  regis  et  suoium  fidelium  prosperari.  Yidensque  sue 
neqwicie  argumenta  minime  preualere,  nee  banc  saltern  tereiam 
filiam  suam,  ad  uoluntatem  suam  aliewi  transmarino  amieo  suo, 
in  regni  subuersionem  {quod  eertissime  sperauerat)  dare  nuptui, 
cum  non  preualuisset  in  dic^os  &piscopos  huius  rei  auctores 
eminus  malignari,  in  iElbertum  regem  uiius  sue  malieie  trucu- 
lenter  euomuit,  hoc  modo. 

Fraus  muliebns  crudelissima. 

Rex  huius  rei  ignarus  tantam  latitasse  fraudem  non  eredebat, 
immo  -pocius  eredebat  hec  ipsi  omnia  placit?/ra.  Cum  igitwr  rex 
piissimies  ipsam  super  premissis^  seciecius  conueniret,  consilium 
queiens  qusblitei  et  q^«ando  forent  complenda,  hec  respondit: 
"Ecce  tradidit  De^ts  hodie  inimicum  tuum,  tihi  caute,  si  sapis, 
"  trucidandum,  qui  sub  specie  superficiali,  uenenum  prodic^oms 
"in  te  et  regnum  tuum  exercende,  neqwiter,  ut  fertur,  occultauit. 
"Et  te  eupit  iam  senescentem,  eum  sit  iuuenis  et  elegans,  de 
"regno  supplantando  preeipitare;  et  posterum  suorwm,  immo  et 
"multorum,  ut  iaetitat,  quos  regnis  et  possessionibus  uiolenter 

^  est  in  margin,  A.  ^  et  omitted,  B.  '  innotuerunt,  B. 

*  in  pietatis  manu,  B.  '  premissimis,  A. 


Murder  of  jEtheTbert  241 

"e^  iniuste  spoliasti,  iniurias  uindicare.  In  emus  rei  fidem, 
"michi  a  meis  amicis  significatum  est,  quod  regis  Karoli  multis 
"muneribus  et  nuwciis  ocultis  intermeantibw^,  implorat  ad  hoc 
"  patrocinium :  se  spondees  ei  fore  tributarium.  Illo  igitur,  dum 
"se  tihi  fortuna  prebet  fauorabilem,  extincto  latenter,  regnuw 
"ems  in  ius  tuum  et  successori^m  tuorwm  transeat  in  etcrnum.'* 

Cui  rex  mente  nimium  perturbatus,  et  de  uerbis  quibws  cre- 
didit  inossQ  ueraciter  falsitatem  et  fraudem,  cum  indignacione 
ipsam  iwcrepando,  respondit:  "Quasi  una  de  stultis  mulieribw* 
"locuta  es!  Absit  a  me,  absit,  tarn  detestabile  iaQtum\  Quo 
"perpetrato,  mihi  meisqwe  successoribw5  foret  obprobrium  sem- 
"piternum,  et  pecca^wm  in  g&nus  meum  cum  graui  uindtc^a 
"diuciw5  propagabile."  Et  hiis  dzciis,  rex  iratus  ab  ea  recessit; 
detestans  tawtos  ac  tales  occultos  laqt^os  in  muliere  latitasse. 

Interea  mentis  pertu^bac^one  paulatim  deposita,  et  hiis 
ciuiliter  dissimulatis,  reges  cowsederunt  ad  me/isam  pransuri: 
ubi  regalibws  esculentis  et  poculentis  ref ecti,  in  timpanis,  citharis, 
et  choris,  diem  totum  in  ingenti  gaudio  expleuerunt.  ^ed  regina 
malefica,  interim  a  ferali  proposito  non  recedens,  iussit  in  dolo 
thalamum  more  regio  pallis  sericis  et  auleis  sollempniter  adornari, 
in  qwo  rex  iElbertus  nocturnum  caperet  sompnum;  iuxta  stratum 
quoqwe  regium  sedile  preparari  fecit,  cultu  nobilissimo  ex- 
tructum,  et  cortinis  undiqwe  redimitum.  Sub  qwo  eciam  fossam 
20oP^eparari  fecit  profundam,  |  ut  nephandum  propositum  perdu- 
ceret  ad  efPec^wm. 

De  martirio  Sawcti  ^Iberti,  regis  innocentissimi. 

Regina  uero  uultu  sereno  co/iceptum  scelus  pallians,  intrauit 
in  palatium,  ut  tam  regem  Offanum  qwam  regem  -^Ibertum 
exhilararet.  Et  inter  iocandum,  conuersa  ad  iElbertum,  nihil 
sinistri^  suspicantem,  ait,  "Fili,  ueni  uisendi  causa  puellam  tihi 
"nuptu  copulandam,  te  in  thalamo  meo  sicienter  expectant  em, 
"ut  sermonibws  gratissimis  amores  subarres  profutwros.'*  Sur- 
gens  igitur  rex  iElbertus,  secutws  est  reginam  in  thalamum  iw- 
gredientem:  rege  Offano  remanente,  qwi  nil  mali  formidabat. 
Ingresso  igitur  rege  Mlberto  cum  regina,  exclusi  sunt  omwes  qui 
eundem  e  uestigio  seqt^ebantwr  sui  commilitones.  Et  cum 
puellam  expectasset,  ait  regina :  "  Sede  fili  dum  ueniat  aduocata." 

^  sinistrum,  B. 
a  B.  1^ 


242  The  Life  of  Offa  II 

Et  cum  in  memorato  sedili  residisset,  cum  ipsa  sella  in  fosse 
corruit  profunditatem.  In  qwa,  subito  a  lictoribw5  quos  regina 
now  procul  absconderat,  rex  innocens  suffocatus  expirauit.  Nam 
ilico  cum  corruisset,  proiecerunt  super  eum  regina  et  sui  com- 
plices nepbandissimi  puluinaria  cum  uestibi^s  et  cortinis,  ne 
damans  ab  aliqwibws  audiret?/r.  Et  sic  elegantissimus  iuuenis 
rex  et  martir  Mlbertus,  innocenter  et  sine  noxa  extinctus,  accepit 
coronam  uite,  [quam]^  ad  iwstar  Johannis  Bapt^ste  mulieris 
laq^^eis  irretitus,  meruit  optinere. 

Puella  uero  regis  filia  ^Elfleda  uirguncula  uenwstissima,  cum 
hec  audisset,  non  tantum  matns  detestata  facinora,  aed  tocius 
seculi  pompam  relinqi^ens,  ha6itum  susceptt  religioms,  u^  uirgo 
martiris  uestigia  seqi^eret^r.  [PJorro^  ad  augmentum^  muliebris 
tirannidis*,  decoUatum  est  corpwsculum  exanime  quia  adhuc 
palpitans  uidebatur.  Clam  igitur  delatum  est  corpus  cum  capite, 
usque  ad  partes  remociores  ad  occultandum  sub  profundo  terre, 
et  dum  spiculator  cruentus  ista  ferret,  caput  obiter  amissum  est 
feliciter:  nox  enim  erat,  et  festinabat  lictor,  et  aperto  ore  sacci, 
caput  cecidit  euolutum,  ignorante  hoc  portitore.  Corpus  autem 
ab  ipso  carnifice  sine  aliquo  teste  conscio  ignobiliter  est  bu- 
matum.  Contigit  auiem,  Deo  sic  disponente,  u^  quidam  cecus 
eadem  via  graderetur,  baculo  semitam  prctemptante.  Habens 
autem  caput  memoratum  pro  pedum  offendiculo,  mirabatur 
qwidnam  esset:  erat  enim  pes  eius  irretitus  in  cincinnis  capitis 
flauis  et  prolixis.  Et  palpans  ccrcius  cognouit^  esse  caput 
bominis  decoUati.  Et  datum  est  ei  in  spmYu  intelligere,  quod 
alicuiws  sancti  caput  esset,  ac  iuuenis.  Et  cum  maduissent 
manws  eius  sanguine,  apposuit  et  sangwinem  faciei  sue:  et  loco 
ubi  quandoque  oculi  eit^s  extiterant,  et  ilico  restitutus  est  ei 
uisus;  et  quod  babuerat  pro  pedum  offendiculo,  factum  est  ei 
f  elix  luminis  restitucio.  Sed  et  in  eodem  loco  quo  caput  sanctum. 
iacuerat,  fons  erupit  lucidissimus.  Quod  cum  celebriter^fuerat 
diuulgatum,  compertum  est  hoc  fuisse  caput  sancti  adolescentis 
Mlbertif  quern,  regina  in  thalamo  neqwiter  fec*t  sugillari  ac  de- 
collari.  Corptts  autem  ubinam  locorum  occultatum  f uerat,  peni- 
tus  ignoratwr.     Hoc  cum  constaret  Humberto  Aichie-piscopo, 

1  quam  in  margin,  A;  over  erasure,  B.         ^  Space  for  cap.  left  vacant,  A. 
3  aucmentum,  A.  *  facinoris,  B. 

*»  congnouit,  A.  ^  celeriter,  B. 


PLATE  VI 


DRIDA  (THUYTH)  ENTRAPS  ALBERTUS  (yETHELBERHT) 
OF  EAST  ANGLIA,  AND  CAUSES  HIM  TO  BE  SLAIN 

From,  MS  Cotton  Nero  D.  I,  fol.  19  b. 


hra|>e  seo^San  waes 
aefter  mimd-3ripe  mece  3ejjin3ed. 

{Beoumlf,  11.  1937-8. 


Punishment  and  death  of  Drida  243 

iaclQ,  capside  ex  auro  et  argento,  illud  iussit  in  tesauro  recondi 
precioso  in  Eccfesm  Herefordensi. 

De  predwd  facinoris  ulc^'one. 

Cuius  tandem  detestabilis  sceleris  a  regina  perpetrati,  ad 
commilitonum  heati  legis  et  Marf^^is  aures  cum^  peruenisse^,  f ama 
ceieriws  ante  lucem  aurore  diei  seqwentis  clanculo  recesserunt, 
ne  de  ipsis  simile  fieret  indicium  metuentes.  Unde  dolens  re- 
gina, in  thalamo  ficta  infirmitate  decubans,  qwasi  uulpecula 
latitabat. 

Rex  uero  Offa  cum  de  commisso  facinore  certitudinem  com- 
perisset,  sese  lugens,  in  cenacwlo  interiori  recludens,  pe[r]  ^  ties 
dies  cibum  penitws  non  gustauit,  animam  suam  lacrimis,  lamen- 
tskcionihus,  et  ieiunio  uehementer  affligens.  Et  execrans  mu- 
lieris  impietatem,  earn  iussit  omnihus  uite  sue  diebws  inclusam 
in  loco  remotam  secreciori  peccoia  sua  deplorare,  si  forte  si6i 
ceKtus  coUata  grac*a,  penite/^do  tanti  commissi  facinoris  ma- 
culam  posset  abolere.  Rex  au^m  ipsam  postea  ut  sociam 
lateris  in  lecto  suo  dormire  quasi  suspectam  non  permisit^. 
De  morte  illiws  facinorose  regine. 

In  loco  igitur  sibi  deputato,  commorante  regina  annis  aliqwot, 
insidiis  latronum  preuenta,  auro  et  argento  quo  multum  ha- 
bundabat  spoliata*,  in  puteo  suo  proprio  precipitata,  spiritum 
exalauit;  iusto  dei  iudic*o  sic  condempnata,  ut  sicut  regem 
iElbertum  innocentem  in  foueam  fecit  precipitari,  et  precipi- 
tatum  suffocari,  sic  in  putei  profunditate  swbme/'sa,  uitam 
miseram  terminaret. 


0.    WiDSiTH,  11.  18,  24-49 

18.    iEtla  weold  Hunum,  Eormanric  7otum, 
******* 

peodric  weold  Froncum,  )?yle  Rondin3um, 
25.    Breoca  Brondin3um,  Billin}  Wernum. 

Oswine  weold  Eowum  ond  Ytum  vefwulf, 

1  cum  in  K  is  inserted  after  pemenisse^  instead  of  before:  and  this  was  prob- 
ably the  original  reading  in  B,  although  subsequently  corrected. 

^  per,  B.  *  corrected  to  nuUateniw  dormire  quasi  suspectam  permisit,  B. 

*  Justa  Vindicta,  A,  in  margin. 

16—2 


244  Widsith  V 

^   Fin  Folcwaldin}  Fresna  cynne. 

Si3eliere  len3est  Sse-Denum  weold, 

Hnsef  H6cin3um,  Helm  Wulfin3um, 
30.    Wald  Woin3um,  Wod  pyrin3um, 

SseferS  Syc3um,  Sweom  On3end)?eow, 

Sceafthere  Ymbrum,  Sceafa  Lon3-Beardum, 

Hun  Haetwerum,  ond  Holen  Wrosnum. 

Hrin3 weald  wses  haten  Heref arena  cyning. 
35.    Offa  weold  Ongle,  Alewih  Denum: 

se  wses  )?ara  manna  m5d3ast  ealra; 

n6liw8e)?re  lie  ofer  Offan  eorlscype  fremede, 

ac  Offa  3eslo3  serest  monna 

cniht  wesende  cynerica  mgest; 
40.    ngeni3  efen-eald  him  eorlscipe  maran 

on  orette  ane  sweorde: 

merce  3em8erde  wis  Myr3in3um 

bi  Fifeldore;  heoldon  forS  sij>)7an 

En3le  ond  Swsefe,  swa  hit  Ofia  3eslo3. 
45.    Hro]?wulf  ond  HroS3ar  heoldon  len3est 

sibbe  setsomne  suhtorfaedran, 

si)?)?an  by  forwrsecon  wicin3a  cynn 

ond  In3eldes  ord  forbi3dan, 

forheowan  aet  Heorote  HeaSo-Beardna  J>rym. 


PART   III 

THE  FIGHT  AT  FINNSBURG 

Section  I.    The  Finnsburo  Fragment 

The  Finnshurg  Fragment  was  discovered  two  centuries  ago 
in  the  library  of  Lambeth  Palace  by  George  Hickes.  It  was 
written  on  a  single  leaf,  which  was  transcribed  and  published 
by  Hickes:  but  the  leaf  is  not  now  to  be  found.  This  is  to  be 
regretted  for  reasons  other  than  sentimental,  since  Hickes' 
transcript  is  far  from  accurate^. 

The  Fragment  begins  and  breaks  off  in  the  middle  of  a  line: 
but  possibly  not  much  has  been  lost  at  the  beginning.    For  the 

1  Mr  Mackie,  in  a'a  excellent  article  on  the  Fragment  {J.E.G.Ph.  xvi,  251) 
objects  that  my  criticism  of  Hickes'  accuracy  "is  not  altogether  judicial." 
Mackie  urges  that,  since  the  MS  is  no  longer  extant,  we  cannot  tell  how  far 
the  errors  are  due  to  Hickes,  and  how  far  they  already  existed  in  the  MS  from 
which  Hickes  copied. 

But  we  must  not  forget  that  there  are  other  transcripts  by  Hickes,  of  MSS 
which  are  still  extant,  and  from  these  we  can  estimate  his  accuracy.  It  is  no 
disrespect  to  the  memory  of  Hickes,  a  scholar  to  whom  we  are  all  indebted,  to 
recognize  frankly  that  his  transcripts  are  not  sufficiently  accurate  to  make  them 
at  all  a  satisfactory  substitute  for  the  original  MS.  Hickes'  transcript  of  the 
C Ottoman  Gnomic  Verses  {Thesaurus^  i,  207)  shows  an  average  of  one  error  in 
every  four  lines :  about  half  these  errors  are  mere  matters  of  speUing,  the  others 
are  serious.  Hickes'  transcript  of  the  Calendar  {Thesaurus^  i,  203)  shows  an 
average  of  one  error  in  every  six  lines.  When,  therefore,  we  find  in  the 
Finnsburg  Fragment  inaccuracies  of  exactly  the  type  which  Hickes  often  com- 
mits, it  would  be  "hardly  judicial"  to  attribute  these  to  the  MS  which  he 
copied,  and  to  attribute  to  Hickes  in  this  particular  instance  an  accuracy  to 
which  he  has  really  no  claim.    . 

Mr  Mackie  doubts  the  legitimacy  of  emending  Garulf  to  Garulfle] :  but  we 
must  remember  that  Hickes  (or  his  printer)  was  systematically  careless  as  to 
the  final  e:  cf.  Calendar,  15,  23,  41, 141, 144,  171,  210;  Gnomic  Verses,  45.  Other 
forms  in  the  Finnsburg  Fragment  which  can  be  easily  paralleled  by  Hickes' 
mis  writings  in  the  Calendar  and  Gnomic  Verses  are 

Confusion  of  u  and  a  {Finn.  3,  27,  perhaps  44)  cf.  Gn.  66. 
„  c     „   e  {Finn.  12)  cf.  Cal.  136,  Gn.  44. 
„  e      „  «  {Finn.  41)  cf.  Cal.  44,  73,  Gn.  44. 
„  „  e      „  a  {Finn.  22)  cf.  Cal.  74. 

„  „  eo    „  ea  {Finn.  28)  cf.  Cal.  121. 

„  „  letters  involving  long  down  stroke,  e.g.,  /,   s,   r,    )>,   w,  p 

{Finn.  2,  36)  cf.  Cal.  97,  142,  180,  181,  Gn.  9. 
Addition  of  n  {Finn.  22)  cf.  Cal.  161. 


246  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

first  lines  of  the  fragment,  as  preserved,  reveal  a  well-loved 
opening  motive — the  call  to  arms  within  the  hall,  as  the  watcher 
sees  the  foes  approach.  It  was  with  such  a  call  that  the 
Bjarhamdl,  the  poem  on  the  death  of  Eolf  Kraki,  began:  "a  good 
call  to  work"  as  a  fighting  king-saint  thought  it^.  It  is  with  a 
similar  summons  to  business  that  the  Finnsburg  Fragment 
begins.  The  watchman  has  warned  the  king  within  the  hall 
that  he  sees  lights  approaching — so  much  we  can  gather  from 
the  two  and  a  half  words  which  are  preserved  from  the  watch- 
man's speech,  and  from  the  reply  made  by  the  "war-young" 
king:  "This  is  not  the  dawn  which  is  rising,  but  dire  deeds  of 
woe;  to  arms,  my  men."  And  the  defending  warriors  take  their 
posts:  at  the  one  door  Sigeferth  and  Eaha:  at  the  other  Ordlaf 
and  Guthlaf,  and  Hengest  himself 2. 

Then  the  poet  turns  to  the  foes,  as  they  approach  for  the 
attack.  The  text  as  reported  by  Hickes  is  difficult:  but  it 
seems  that  Garulf  ^  is  the  name  of  the  warrior  about  to  lead  the 
assault  on  the  hall.  Another  warrior,  Guthere,  whether  a  friend, 
kinsman,  or  retainer*  we  do  not  know,  is  dissuading  him,  urging 
him  not  to  risk  so  precious  a  life  in  the  first  brunt.  But  Garulf 
pays  no  heed;  he  challenges  the  champion  on  guard:  "Who  is 
it  who  holds  the  door? " 

"Sigeferth  is  my  name,"  comes  the  reply,  "Prince  I  am  of 
the  Secgan:  a  wandering  champion  known  far  and  wide:  many 
a  woe,  many  a  hard  fight  have  I  endured:  from  me  canst  thou 
have  what  thou  seekest." 

So  the  clash  of  arms  begins:  and  the  first  to  fall  is  Garulf, 
son  of  Guthlaf :  and  many  a  good  man  round  him.  "  The  swords 
flashed  as  if  all  Finnsburg  were  afire." 

^  Heimskringla,  chap.  220. 

2  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  phrase  "Hengest  himself  "indicates  that 
Hengest  is  the  "war-young  king."  But  surely  the  expression  merely  marks 
Hengest  out  as  a  person  of  special  interest.  If  we  must  assume  that  he  is  one 
of  the  people  who  have  been  speaking,  then  it  would  be  just  as  natural  to 
identify  him  with  the  watcher  who  has  warned  the  king,  as  with  the  king 
himself.  The  difficulties  which  prevent  us  from  identifying  Hengest  with  the 
king  are  explained  below. 

3  Garulf  must  be  an  assailant,  since  he  falls  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle, 
whilst  we  are  told  that  for  five  days  none  of  the  defenders  fell. 

*  Very  possibly  Guthere  is  uncle  of  Garulf.  For  Garulf  is  said  to  be  son  of 
Guthlaf  (1.  35)  and  a  Guthere  would  be  likely  to  be  a  brother  of  a  Guthlsd. 
Further,  as  Klaeber  points  out  {Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  307)  it  is  the  part  of  the 
uncle  to  protect  and  advise  the  nephew. 


The  Finnsburg  Fragment  247 

Never,  we  are  told,  was  there  a  better  defence  than  that  of 
the  sixty  champions  within  the  hall.     ''Never  did  retainers  repay   7 
the  sweet  mead  better  than  his  bachelors  did  unto  Hnaef .  For  five 
days  they  fought,  so  that  none  of  the  men  at  arms  fell :  but  they 
held  the  doors."     After  a  few  more  lines  the  piece  breaks  off,^ 

There  are  many  textual  difficulties  here.  But  these,  for  the 
most  part,  do  not  affect  the  actual  narrative,  which  is  a  story 
of  clear  and  straightforward  fighting.  It  is  when  we  try  to  fit 
this  narrative  into  relationship  with  the  Episode  in  Beowulf  that 
our  troubles  begin.  Within  the  Fragment  itself  one  difficulty 
only  need  at  present  be  mentioned.  Guthlaf  is  one  of  the  u- 
champions  defending  the  hall.  Yet  the  leader  of  the  assault, 
Garulf,  is  spoken  of  as  Guthlaf's  son.  Of  course  it  is  possible 
that  we  have  here  a  tragic  incident  parallel  to  the  story  of 
Hildebrand  and  Hadubrand:  father  and  son  may  have  been 
separated  through  earlier  misadventures,  and  now  find  them- 
selves engaged  on  opposite  sides.  This  would  harmonize  with 
the  atmosphere  of  the  Finnsburg  story,  which  is  one  of  slaughter 
breaking  out  among  men  near  of  kin,  so  that  afterwards  an  uncle 
and  a  nephew  are  burnt  on  the  same  pyre.  And  it  has  been 
noted  ^  that  Garulf  rushes  to  the  attack  only  after  he  has  asked 
"Who  holds  the  door?"  and  has  learnt  that  it  is  Sigeferth: 
Guthlaf  had  gone  to  the  opposite  door.  Can  Garulf's  question 
mean  that  he  knows  his  father  Guthlaf  to  be  inside  the, hall, 
and  wishes  to  avoid  conflict  with  him?  Possibly;  but  I  do  not 
think  we  can  argue  much  from  this  double  appearance  of  the 
name  Guthlaf,  It  is  possible  that  the  occurrence  of  Guthlaf  as 
Garulf's  father  is  simply  a  scribal  error.  For,  puzzling  as  the 
tradition  of  Finnsburg  everywhere  is,  it  is  peculiarly  puzzling  in 
its  proper  names,  which  are  mostly  given  in  forms  that  seem 
to  have  undergone  some  alteration.  And  even  if  GU&ldfes  sunu 
be  correctly  written,  it  is  possible  that  the  Guthlaf  who  is  father 
of  Garulf  is  not  to  be  identified  with  the  Guthlaf  whom  Garulf 
is  besieging  within  the  hall^. 

1  Koegel,  Qeschichte  d.  deut.  Litt.  i,  i,  165. 

2  Klaeber  {Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  308)  reminds  us  that,  as  there  are  two  warriors        i 
named  Godric  in  the  Battle  of  Maldon  (1.  325),  so  there  may  be  two  warriors        \ 
named  Guthlaf  here.     But  to  this  it  might  possibly  be  replied  that  "Godric" 
was,  in  England,  an  exceedingly  common  name,  "Guthlaf"  an  exceedingly 
rare  one.  ^" 


248  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

One  or  other  of  these  rather  unsatisfactory  solutions  must 
unfortunately  be  accepted.  For  no  theory  is  possible  which  will 
save  us  from  admitting  that,  according  to  the  received  text, 
Guthlaf  is  fighting  on  the  one  side,  and  a  "son  of  Guthlaf "  on 
the  other. 


Section  II.    The  Episode  in  Beowulf 

Further  details  of  the  story  we  get  in  the  Episode  of  Finns- 
burg ^  as  recorded  in  Beowulf  (11.  1068-1159). 

BeowuK  is  being  entertained  in  the  court  of  the  king  of  the 
Danes,  and  the  king's  harper  tells  the  tale  of  Hengest  and  Finn. 
Only  the  main  events  are  enumerated.  There  are  none  of  the 
dramatic  sa^Sj^es  which  we  find  in  the  Fragment.  It  is  evident 
that  the  t^lpps  been  reduced  in  scope,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
fitted  into  lislglace  as  an  episode  in  the  longer  epic. 

The  tone,  too,  is  quite  different.  Whereas  the  Fragment  is 
inspired  by  the  lust  and  joy  of  battle,  the  theme  of  the  Episode, 
as  told  in  Beowulf,  is  rather  the  pity  of  it  all;  the  legacy  of 
mourning  and  vengeance  which  is  left  to  the  survivors : 

For  never  can  true  reconcilement  grow 

Where  wounds  of  deadly  hate  have  struck  so  deep. 

It  is  on  this  note  that /the  Episode  in  Beowulf  begins:  with 
the  tragic  figure  of  Hildeburh.  Hildeburh  is  closely  related  to 
both  contending  parties.  She  is  sister  to  Hnsef,  prince  of  the 
"Half -Danes,"  and  she  is  wedded  to  Finn,  king  of  the  Frisians. 
Whatever  may  be  obscure  in  the  story,  it  is  clear  that  a  fight 
has  taken  place  between  the  men  of  Hnaef  and  those  of  Finn, 
and  that  Hnsef  has  been  slain :  probably  by  Finn  directly,  though 
perhaps  by  his  followers^.     A  son  of  Finn  has  also  fallen. 

With  regard  to  the  peoples  concerned  there  are  dijQ&culties. 
Finn's  Frisians  are  presumably  the  main  Frisian  race,  dwelling 
in  and  around  the  district  still  known  as  Friesland;  for  in  the 
Catalogue  of  Kings  in  Widsith  it  is  said  that  "Finn  Folcwalding 

1  Finn  is  called  the  bana,  "slayer"  of  Hnsef.  But  this  does  not  necessarily 
mean  that  he  slew  him  with  his  own  hand;  it  would  be  enough  if  he  were  in 
command  of  the  assailants  at  the  time  when  Hnsef  was  slain.  Cf.  Beoumlf, 
1.  1968. 


The  Episode  in  Beowulf  249 

ruled  the  kin  of  the  Frisians^."  Hnaef  and  his  people  are  called 
Half-Danes,  Danes  and  Scyldings ;  Hnsef  is  therefore  presumably 
related  to  the  Danish  royal  house.  But,  in  no  account  which 
has  come  down  to  us  of  that  house,  are  Hnaef  or  his  father  Hoc 
ever  mentioned  as  kings  or  princes  of  Denmark,  and  their  con- 
nection with  the  family  of  Hrothgar,  the  great  house  of  Scyldings 
who  ruled  Denmark  from  the  capital  of  Leire,  remains  obscure. 
In  Widsith,  the  people  ruled  over  by  Hnsef  are  called  "  children 
of  Hoc*'  (Hocingum),  and  are  mentioned  immediately  after  the 
"Sea-Danes2.'» 

Then  there  is  a  mysterious  people  called  the  Eotens,  upon 
whom  is  placed  the  blame  of  the  struggle:  "Verily  Hildeburh 
had  Uttle  reason  to  praise  the  good  faith  of  the  Eotens."  This 
is  the  typical  understatement  of  Old  EngHsh  rhetoric:  it  can 
only  point  to  dehberate  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Eotens. 
Our  interpretation  of  the  poem  will  therefore  hinge  largely  upon 
our  interpretation  of  this  name.  There  have  been  two  views  as 
to  the  Eotens.  The  one  view  holds  them  to  be  Hnsef's  Danes, 
and  consequently  places  on  Hnsef  the  responsibihty  for  the  ag- 
gression. This  theory  is,  I  think,  quite  wrong,  and  has  been 
the  cause  of  much  confusion:  but  it  has  been  held  by  scholars 
of  great  weight^.    The  other  view  regards  the  Eotens  as  subjects 

^  The  idea  that  Finn's  Frisians  are  the  "North  Frisians"  of  Schleswig  has 
been  supported  by  Grein  {Eberts  Jahrbuch,  iv,  270)  and,  following  him,  by  many 
scholars,  including  recently  Sedgefield  {Beowulf,  p.  258).  The  difficulties  of 
this  view  are  very  many :  one  only  need  be  emphasized.  We  first  hear  of  these 
North  Frisians  of  Schleswig  in  the  12th  century,  and  Saxo  Grammaticus  tells 
us  expressly  that  they  were  a  colony  from  the  greater  Frisia  (Book  xrv,  ed. 
Holder,  p.  465).  At  what  date  this  colony  was  founded  we  do  not  know.  The 
latter  part  of  the  9th  century  has  been  suggested  by  Langhans :  so  h,as  the  end 
of  the  nth  century  by  Lauridsen.  However  this  may  be,  all  the  evidence 
precludes  our  supposing  this  North  Friesland,  or,  as  Saxo  calls  it,  Fresia  Minor, 
to  have  existed  at  the  date  to  which  we  must  attribute  the  origin  of  the  Finn 
story.  On  this  point  the  following  should  be  consulted:  Langhans  (V.),  Ueber 
den  Ursprung  der  Nordfriesen,  Wien,  1879  (most  valuable  on  accbunt  of  its 
citation  of  documents :  the  latter  part  of  the  book,  which  consists  of  an  attempt 
to  rewrite  the  Finn  story  by  dismissing  as  corrupt  or  spurious  many  of  the 
data,  must  not  blind  us  to  the  value  of  the  earlier  portions):  Lauridsen,  Om 
Nordfrisernes  Indvandring  i  S^derjylland,  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  6  R,  4  B.  n, 
318-67,  KJ€Jbenhavn,  1893:  Siebs,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Englisch-Friesischen 
Sprache,  1889,  23-6:  Chadwick,  Origin,  94:  Much  in  Hoops  Beallexikon,  s.v. 
Friesen;  and  Bremer  in  Pauls  Grdr.  (2),  iii,  848,  where  references  will  be  found 
to  earlier  essays  on  the  subject. 

2  The  theory  that  Hnsef  is  a  captain  of  Healfdene  is  based  upon  a  rendering 
of  1.  1064  which  is  in  all  probability  wrong. 

3  The  view  that  the  Eotenas  are  the  men  of  Hnsef  and  Hengest  has  been 
held  by  ThoT^ {Beowulf,  pp.  76-7),Ettmuller(5eoMntZf.  1840,  p.  108),  Bouterwek 


250  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

of  Finn  and  foes  of  Hnsef.  This  view  has  been  more  generally 
held,  and  it  is,  as  I  shall  try  to  show,  only  along  these  lines  that 
a  satisfactory  solution  can  be  found. 

The  poet  continues  of  the  woes  of  Hildeburh.  "Guiltless, 
she  lost  at  the  war  those  whom  she  loved,  child  and  brother. 
They  fell  as  was  fated,  wounded  by  the  spear,  and  a  sad  lady 
was  she.  Not  for  naught  did  the  daughter  of  Hoc  [i.e.  Hilde- 
burh] bewail  her  fate  when  morning  came,  when  under  the  sky 
she  could  behold  the  murderous  bale  of  her  kinsfolk " 

Then  the  poet  turns  to  the  figure  of  Finn,  king  of  the 
Frisians.  His  cause  for  grief  is  as  deep  as  that  of  Hildeburh. 
For  he  has  lost  that  body  of  retainers  which  to  a  Germanic 
chief,  even  as  to  King  Arthur,  was  dearer  than  a  wife^.  "War 
swept  away  all  the  retainers  of  Finn,  except  some  few." 

What  follows  is  obscure,  but  as  to  the  general  drift  there  is 
no  doubt.  After  the  death  of  their  king  Hnsef,  the  besieged 
Danes  are  led  by  Hengest.  Hengest  must  be  Hnaef's  retainer, 
for  he  is  expressly  so  called  ('}peodnes  pegn)  "the  king's  thegn." 
So  able  is  the  defence  of  Hengest,  and  so  heavy  the  loss  among 
Finn's  men,  that  Finn  has  to  come  to  terms.  Peace  is  made 
between  Finn  and  Hengest,  and  the  terms  are  given  fully  in 
the  Episode.  Unfortunately,  owing  to  the  confusion  of  pro- 
nouns, we  soon  lose  our  way  amidst  the  clauses  of  this  treaty, 
and  it  becomes  exceedingly  difficult  to  say  who  are  the  people 
who  are  alluded  to  as  "they."  This  is  peculiarly  unlucky  be- 
cause here  again  the  critical  word  Eotena  occurs,  but  amid  such 
a  tangle  of  "thems"  and  "theys"  that  it  is  not  easy  to  tell 
from  this  passage  to  which  side  the  Eotens  belong  ^. 

But  one  thing  in  the  treaty  is  indisputable.  In  the  midst 
of  these  complicated  clauses,  it  is  said  of  the  Danes,  the  retainers 

{Germania,  i,  389),  Holtzmann  {Germania,  viii,  492),  MoUer  {Volksepos,  94-5), 
Chadwick  {Origin,  53),  Clarke  {Sidelights,  184). 

^-  "And  therefore,  said  the  King. .  .much  more  I  am  sorrier  for  my  good 
knights'  loss,  than  for  the  loss  of  my  fair  queen.  For  queens  I  might  have 
enow:  but  such  a  fellowship  of  good  knights  shall  never  be  together  in  no 
company."     Malory,  Morte  Darihur,  Bk.  xx,  chap.  ix. 

2  The  argument  of  Bugge  {P.B.B.  xii,  37)  that  the  Eotens  here  (1.  1088) 
must  be  the  Frisians,  is  inconclusive:  but  so  is  Miss  Clarke's  argument  that 
they  must  be  Danes  {Sidelights,  181),  as  is  shown  by  Lawrence  {Pub.  Mod. 
Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxx,  395). 


The  Episode  in  Beowulf  251 

of  Hnsef,  that  they  are  not  to  be  taunted  with  a  certain  fact: 
or  perhaps  it  may  be  that  they  are  not,  when  speaking  amongst 
themselves,  to  remind  each  other  of  a  certain  fact.  However 
that  may  be,  what  is  clear  is  th.Q  fact,  the  mention  of  which  is 
barred.  Nothing  is  to  be  said  of  it,  even  though  ^Hhey  were 
following  the  slayer  (hana)  of  their  lord,  being  without  a  prince, 
since  they  were  compelled  so  to  do  J'  Here,  at  least,  are  two  Hnes 
about  the  interpretation  of  which  we  can  be  certain :  and  I  shall 
therefore  return  to  them.  We  must  be  careful,  however,  to 
remember  that  the  word  bana,  "slayer,"  conveys  no  idea  of  fault 
or  criminality.  It  is  a  quite  neutral  word,  although  it  has  fre- 
quently been  mistranslated  "murderer,"  and  has  thus  helped  to 
encourage  the  belief  that  Finn  slew  Hnaef  by  treachery.  Of 
course  it  conveys  no  such  implication :  bana  can  be  applied  to 
one  who  slays  another  in  self-defence :  it  implies  neither  the  one 
thing  nor  the  other. 

Then  the  poet  turns  to  the  funeral  of  the  dead  champions, 
who  are  burned  on  one  pyre  by  the  now  reconciled  foes.  The 
bodies  of  Hnaef  and  of  the  son  (or  sons)^  of  Hildeburh  are  placed 
together,  uncle  and  nephew  side  by  side,  whilst  Hildeburh  stands 
by  lamenting. 

Then,  we  are  told,  the  warriors,  deprived  of  their  friends, 
departed  to  Friesland,  to  their  homes  and  to  their  high-city. 

Hengest  still  continued  to  dwell  for  the  whole  of  that  winter 
with  Finn,  and  could  not  return  home  because  of  the  winter 
storms.  But  when  spring  came  and  the  bosom  of  the  earth 
became  fair,  there  came  also  the  question  of  Hengest's  departure : 
but  he  thought  more  of  vengeance  than  of  his  sea-journey:  "If 
he  might  bring  about  that  hostile  meeting  which  he  kept  in  his 
mind  concerning  the  child  (or  children)  of  the  Eotens."  Here 
again  the  word  Eotena  is  used  ambiguously,  but,  I  think,  this 
Jjime  not  without  some  indication  of  its  meaning.  It  has  indeed 
been  urged  that  the  child  or  children  of  the  Eotens  are  Hnaef, 
and  any  other  Danes  who  may  have  fallen  with  him,  and  that 
when  it  is  said  that  Hengest  keeps  them  in  mind,  it  is  meant 
that  he  is  remembering  his  fallen  comrades  with  a  view  to  taking 

^  I  say  "son"  in  what  follows,  without  prejudice  to  the  possiblKty  of  more 
than  one  son  having  fallen.     It  in  no  wise  affects  the  argument. 


252  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

vengeance  for  them.  But  this  would  be  a  queer  way  of  speaking, 
as  Hengest  and  his  living  comrades  would  on  this  theory  be  also 
themselves  children  of  the  Eotens^.  We  should  therefore  need  the 
term  to  be  further  defined:  "children  of  the  Eotens  who  fell  at 
Finnsburg.''  It  seems  far  more  hkely,  from  the  way  in  which  the 
expression  is  used  here,  that  the  children  of  the  Eotens  are  the 
people  upon  whom  Hengest  intends  to  take  vengeance. 

Then,  we  are  further  told,  Hunlafing  places  in  the  bosom  of 
Hengest  a  sword  of  which  the  edges  were  well  known  amongst 
the  Eotens.  Here  again  there  has  been  ambiguity,  dispute  and 
doubt.  Hunlafing  has  been  even  bisected  into  a  chief  "Hun," 
and  a  sword  "Lafing"  which  "Hun"  is  supposed  to  have  placed 
in  the  bosom  of  Hengest  (or  of  someone  else).  Upon  this  act 
of  "Hun"  many  an  interpretation  has  been  placed,  and  many  a 
theory  built.  Fortunately  it  has  become  possible,  by  a  series 
of  rather  extraordinary  discoveries,  such  as  we  had  little  reason 
to  hope  for  at  this  time  of  day,  to  put  Hunlafing  together  again.  ^ 
We  now  know  (and  this  I  think  should  be  regarded  as  outside 
the  region  of  controversy)  that  the  warrior  who  put  the  sword 
into  Hengest' s  bosom  was  Hunlafing.  And  about  Hunlafing  we 
gather,  though  very  little,  yet  enough  to  help  us.  He  is  ap- 
parently a  Dane,  the  son  of  Hunlaf,  and  Hunlaf  is  the  brother 
of  the  two  champions  Guthlaf  and  Ordlaf^.  Now  Guthlaf  and 
Ordlaf ,  as  we  know  from  the  Fragment,  were  in  the  hall  together 

1  For  example,  it  might  well  be  said  of  Achilles,  whilst  thirsting  for  ven- 
geance upon  the  Trojans  for  the  death  of  Patroclus,  that  "he  could  not  get 
the  children  of  the  Trojans  out  of  his  mind."  But  surely  it  would  be  unin- 
telligible to  say  that  "he  could  not  get  the  child  of  the  Achaeans  out  of  his 
mind,"  meaning  Patroclus,  for  "child  of  the  Achaeans"  is  not  sufl&ciently  dis- 
tinctive to  denote  Patroclus.     Cf.  Boer  in  Z.f.d.A.  XLVii,  134. 

2  In  the  Skjoldunga  Saga  [extant  in  a  Latin  abstract  by  Amgrim  Jonsson, 
ed.  Olrik,  1894],  cap.  iv,  mention  is  made  of  a  king  of  Denmark  named  Leifus 
who  had  six  sons,  three  of  whom  are  named  Hunleifus,  Oddleifus  and  Gunn- 
leifus — corresponding  exactly  to  O.E.  Hunlaf,  Ordlaf  and  Gudlaf.  That  Hunlaf 
was  well  known  in  English  story  is  proved  by  a  remarkable  passage  unearthed 
by  Dr  Imelmann  from  MS  Cotton  Vesp.  D.  IV  (fol.  139  6)  where  Hunlaf  is 
mentioned  together  with  a  number  of  other  heroes  of  Old  English  story — Wudga, 
Hama,  HrothuLf,  Hengest,  Horsa  (Hoc  testamur  gesta  rudolpM  et  hunlapi,  Unwini 
et  Widie,  horsi  et  hengisti,  Waltefet  hame).  See  Chadwick,  Origin,  52 :  R.  Huchon, 
Revue  Oermanique,  iii,  626 :  Imelmann,  in  D.L.Z.  xxx,  999 :  April,  1909.  This 
disposes  of  the  translation  "  Hun  thrust  or  placed  in  his  bosom  Lafing,  best  of 
swords,"  which  was  adopted  by  Bugge  (P.B.B.  xii,  33),  Holder,  ten  Brink  and 
Gering.     Hun  is  mentioned  in  Widsith  (1.  33)  and  in  the  Icelandic  Thulor. 

That  Guthlaf,  Ordlaf  and  Hunlaf  must  be  connected  together  had  been 
noted  by  Boer  {Z.f.d.A.  XLvn,  .139)  before  this  discovery  of  Chadwick's  con- 
firmed him. 


The  Episode  in  Beowulf  253 

with  Hengest:  it  was  "Guthlaf,  Ordlaf  and  Hengest  himself" 
who  undertook  the  defence  of  one  of  the  doors  against  the 
assailants.  Guthlaf  and  Ordlaf  were  apparently  sons  of  the 
king  of  Denmark.  As  Scyldings  they  would  be  Hnsef 's  kinsmen, 
and  accompanied  him  to  his  meeting  with  Finn.  Hunlafing, 
then,  is  a  nephew  of  two  champions  who  were  attacked  in  the 
hall,  and  it  is  possible,  though  we  cannot  prove  this,  that  his 
father  Hunlaf  was  himself  also  in  the  hall,  and  was  slain  in  the 
struggle^.  At  any  rate,  when  Hunlaf's  son  places  a  sword  in 
the  bosom  of  Hengest,  this  can  only  mean  one  thing.  It  means 
mischief.  The  placing  of  the  sword,  by  a  prince,  in  the  bosom 
of  another,  is  a  symbol  of  war-service.  It  means  that  Hengest 
has  accepted  obligations  to  a  Danish  lord,  a  Scylding,  a  kinsman 
of  the  dead  Hnaef,  and  consequently  that  he  means  to  break 
the  troth  which  he  has  sworn  to  Finn. 

Further,  we  are  told  concerning  the  sword,  that  its  edges 
were  well  known  amongst  the  Eotens.  At  first  sight  this  might 
seem,  and  to  many  has  seemed,  an  ambiguous  phrase,  for  a 
sword  may  be  well  known  amongst  either  friends  or  foes.  The 
old  poets  loved  nothing  better  than  to  dwell  upon  the  adorn- 
ments of  a  sword,  to  say  how  a  man,  by  reason  of  a  fine  sword 
which  had  been  given  to  him,  was  honoured  amongst  his  as- 
sociates at  table^.  Eut  if  this  had  been  the  poet's  meaning  here, 
he  would  surely  have  dwelt,  not  upon  the  edges  of  the  sword, 
but  upon  its  gold-adorned  hilt,  or  its  jewelled  pommel.  When 
he  says  the  edges  of  the  sword  were  well  known  amongst  the 
Eotens,  this  seems  to  convey  a  hostile  meaning.  We  know  that 
the  ill-faith  of  the  Eotens  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  The 
phrase  about  the  sword  seems  therefore  to  mean  that  Hengest 
used  this  sword  in  order  to  take  vengeance  on  the  Eotens, 
presumably  for  their  treachery. 

The  Eotenas,  therefore,  far  from  being  the  men  of  Hnaef  and 
Hengest,  must  have  been  their  foes. 

Then  the  poet  goes  on  to  tell  how  "Dire  sword- bale  came 
upon  the  valiant  Finn  likewise."  The  Danes  fell  upon  Finn  at 

1  The  fragment  which  tells  of  the  fighting  in  the  hall  is  so  imperfect  that 
there  is  nothing  impossible  in  the  assumption,  though  it  is  too  hazardous  to 
make  it. 

2  Cf.  Beoimlf,  11.  1900  etc. 


> 


254  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

his  own  home,  reddened  the  floor  of  his  hall  with  the  life-blood 
of  his  men,  slew  him,  plundered  his  town,  and  led  his  wife  back 
to  her  own  people. 

Here  the  Episode  ends. 

Section  III.    Holler's  Theory 

Now  our  first  task  is  to  find  what  is  the  relation  between 
the  events  told  in  the  Fragment  and  the  events  told  in  the 
Episode  in  Beowulf.  It  can,  I  think,  be  shown  that  the  events 
of  the  Fragment  precede  the  events  of  the  Episode  in  Beowulf; 
that  is  to  say  that  the  fight  in  the  hall,  of  which  we  are  told  in 
the  Fragment,  is  the  same  fight  which  has  taken  place  before 
the  Episode  in  Beowulf  begins,  the  fight  which  has  resulted  in 
the  slaughter  over  which  Hildeburh  laments,  and  which  ne- 
cessitates the  great  funeral  described  in  the  first  part  of  the 
Episode  (11.  1108-24). 

How  necessary  it  is  to  place  the  Fragment  here,  before  the 
beginning  of  the  Episode,  will  be  best  seen,  I  think,  if  we  examine 
the  theory  which  has  tried  to  place  it  elsewhere. 

This  is  the  theory,  worked  out  elaborately  and  ingeniously 
by  Holier^,  a  theory  which  has  had  considerable  vogue,  and 
many  of  the  assumptions  of  which  have  been  widely  accepted. 
According  to  MoUer  and  his  followers,  the  story  ran  something 
like  this : 

"Finn,  king  of  the  Frisians,  had  canied  off  Hildeburh,  daughter 
of  Hoc  (1076),  probably  with  her  consent.  Her  father  Hoc  seems  to 
have  pursued  the  fugitives,  and  to  have  been  slain  in  the  fight  which 
ensued  on  his  overtaking  them.  After  the  lapse  of  some  twenty  years, 
the  brothers  Hnaef  and  Hengest,  Hoe's  sons,  were  old  enough  to 
undertake  the  duty  of  avenging  their  father's  death.  They  make  an 
inroad  into  Finn's  country." 

Up  to  this,  all  is  Moller's  hypothesis,  unsupported  by  any 
evidence,  either  in  the  Fragment  or  the  Episode.  It  is  based, 
so  far  as  it  has  any  real  foundation,  upon  a  mythical  interpre- 
tation of  Finn,  and  upon  parallels  with  the  Hild-story,  the 
Gudrun-story,  and  a  North  Frisian  folk-tale^.     Some  of  the 

1  Das  Altenglische  Volksepos,  46-99. 

2  C.  P.  Hansen,   Uald'  Soldering  tialen,  IMefgeltje^nder,  1858.    See  Moller, 
Volksepos,  75  etc. 


Moller's  Theory  255 

parallels  are  striking,  but  they  are  not  sufficient  to  justify 
Moller's  reconstruction.  The  authenticity  of  large  portions  of 
the  folk- tale  is  open  to  doubt  ^i  and  these  portions  are  vital  to 
any  parallel  with  thj^tory  of  Finnsburg;  whilst  we  have  no 
right  to  read  into  the  jj^  story  details  from  the  Hild  or  Gudrun 
stories,  unless  we  can  show  that  they  are  really  versions  of  the 
same  tale:  and  this  cannot  be  shown.  Moller's  suppositions  as 
to  the  events  before  the  Episode  in  Beowulf  opens,  must  there- 
fore be  dismissed.  Moller's  reconstruction  then  gets  into  /ela- 
tion with  the  real  story,  as  narrated  in  Beowulf: 

"A  battle  takes  place  in  which  many  warriors,  among  them  Hnsef 
and  a  son  of  Finn  (1074.  1079,  1115),  are  killed.  Peace  is  therefore 
solemnly  concluded,  and  the  slain  warriors  are  burnt  (1068-1124). 

As  the  year  is  too  far  advanced  for  Hengest  to  return  home 
(11.  1130  ff.),  he  and  those  of  his  men  who  survive  remain  for  the 
winter  in  the  Frisian  country  with  Finn.  But  Hengest' s  thoughts 
dwell  constantly  on  the  death  of  his  brother  Hnsef,  and  he  would 
gladly  welcome  any  excuse  to  break  the  peace  which  has  been  sworn 
by  both  parties.  His  ill-concealed  desire  for  revenge  is  noticed  by  the 
Frisians,  who  anticipate  it  by  themselves  taking  the  initiative  and 
attacking  Hengest  and  his  men  whilst  they  are  sleeping  in  the  haU. 
This  is  the  night  attack  described  in  the  Fragment.  It  would  seem  that 
after  a  brave  and  desperate  resistance  Hengest  himself  falls  in  this 
fight 2,  but  two  of  his  retainers,  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf^,  succeed  in  cutting 
their  way  through  their  enemies  and  in  escaping  to  their  own  land. 
They  return  with  fresh  troops,  attack  and  slay  Finn,  and  carry  his 
queen  Hildeburh  ofiE  with  them  (1125-1159)3." 

Now  the  difficulties  of  this  theory  will,  I  think,  be  found  to 
be  insuperable.     Let  us  look  at  some  of  them. 

Moller's  view  rests  upon  his  interpretation  of  the  Eotens  as 
the  men  of  Hnsef*.  Since  the  Eotens  are  the  aggressors,  he  has 
consequently  to  invent  the  opening,  which  makes  Hnaef  and 
Hengest  the  invaders  of  Finn's  country:  and  he  has  therefore 
to  relegate  the  Fragment  (in  which  Hnsef's  men  are  clearly  not 
the  attacking  party  but  the  attacked)  to  a  later  stage  in  the 
story.  But  we  have  already  seen  that  this  inteMetation  of  the 
Eotens  as  the  men  of  Hnaef  is  not  the  natural  one. 

Further,  the  assumption  that  Hnsef  and  Hengest  are  brothers, 
though  still  frequently  met  with^,  is  surely  not  justifiable. 

1  See  Mullenhoff  in  A.f.d.A.  vi,  86. 

2  So  Moller,  Volksepos,  152. 

3  See  Beowulf,  ed.  Wyatt,  1894,  p.  145.  *  Volksepos,  71  etc. 

5  e.g.,  Sedgefield,  Beoumlf,  2nd  ed.,  p.  258.  So  1st  ed.,  p.  13  {Hoc  being 
an  obvious  misprint). 


256  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

There  is  nothing  which  demands  any  such  relationship,  and 
there  is  much  which  definitely  excludes  it.  After  Hnaefs  death, 
Hengest  is  described  as  the  thegn  of  Hnsef :  an  expression  without 
parallel  or  explanation,  if  he  was  really  his  brother  and  successor. 
Again,  we  are  expressly  told  in  the  Episode  that  the  Danish 
retainers  make  terms  with  Finn,  the  slayer  of  their  lord,  being 
without  a  prince.  How  could  this  be  said,  if  Hengest  was  now 
their  lord  and  prince?  These  lines  are,  as  we  have  seen,  one 
of  the  few  clear  and  indisputable  things  in  the  poem.  An  inter- 
pretation which  contradicts  them  flatly,  by  making  Hengest  the 
lord  of  the  Danish  retainers,  seems  self-condemned. 

Again,  in  Beowulf,  the  poet  dwells  upon  the  blameless 
sorrows  of  Hildeburh.  We  gather  that  she  wakes  up  in  the 
morning  to  find  that  the  kinsfolk  whom  she  loves  have,  during 
the  night,  come  to  blows.  "Innocent,  she  lost  son  and  brother^ 
— a  sad  lady  she."  Are  such  expressions  natural,  if  Hildeburh 
had  eloped  with  Finn,  and  her  father  had  in  consequence  been 
slain  by  him  some  twenty  years  before?  If  she  has  taken  that 
calmly,  and  continued  to  live  happily  with  Finn,  would  her 
equanimity  be  so  seriously  disturbed  by  the  slaughter  of  a 
brother  in  addition? 

But  these  difl&culties  are  nothing  compared  to  the  further 
difl&culties  which  MoUer's  adherents  have  to  face  when  they 
proceed  to  find  a  place  for  the  night  attack  as  told  in  the 
Fragment,  in  the  middle  of  the  Episode  in  Beowulf,  i.e.  between 
lines  1145  and  1146.  In  the  first  place  we  have  no  right  to 
postulate  that  such  important  events  could  have  been  passed 
over  in  silence  in  the  summary  of  the  story  as  given  in  Beowulf, 
For  MoUer  has  to  assume  that  after  the  reconciliation  between 
Hengest  and  Finn,  Finn  broke  his  pledges,  attacked  Hengest  by 
night,  slew  most  of  the  men  who  were  with  him,  including 
perhaps  Hengest  himself;  and  that  the  Beowulf-'poet  neverthe- 
less omitted  all  reference  to  these  events,  though  they  occur  in 
the  midst  of  the  story,  and  are  essential  to  an  understanding 
of  it. 

But  even  apart  from  this  initial  dijficulty,  we  find  that  by 
no  process  of  explaining  can  we  make  the  night  attack  narrated 

^  On  the  poet's  use  of  plural  for  singular  here,  see  Osthoff,  I.F.  xx,  202-7. 


Bvjgge's  Theory  257 

in  the  Fragment  fit  in  at  the  point  where  Moller  places  it.  In 
the  night  attack  the  men  are  called  to  arms  by  a  "war-young 
king."  This  "war-young  king"  cannot  be,  as  Moller  supposes, 
Hengest,  for  the  simple  reason  that  Hengest,  as  I  have  tried  to 
show  above,  far  from  being  the  brother  of  Hnaef,  and  his  suc- 
cessor as  king,  is  his  servant  and  thegn.  The  king  can  only  be  \ 
Hnsef.  But  Hnsef  has  already  been  slain  before  the  Episode 
begins:  and  this  makes  it  impossible  to  place  the  Fragment  (in 
which  Hnsef  appears)  in  the  middle  of  the  Episode.  Further, 
it  is  said  in  the  Fragment  that  never  did  retainers  repay  a  lord 
better  than  did  his  men  repay  Hnsef.  Now  these  words  would 
only  be  possible  if  the  retainers  were  fighting  for  their  lord; 
that  is,  either  defending  him  alive  or  avenging  him  dead.  But 
Holler's  theory  assumes  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  period  when 
the  retainers  have  definitely  left  the  service  of  their  lord  Hnsef, 
after  his  death,  and  have  entered  the  service  of  his  slayer,  Finn. 
They  have  thus  dissolved  all  bonds  with  their  former  lord:  they 
have  taken  Finn's  money  and  become  his  men.  If  Finn  then 
turns  upon  his  new  retainers  and  treacherously  tries  to  slay 
them,  it  might  be  said  that  the  retainers  defended  their  own 
lives  stoutly:  but  it  would  be  far-fetched  to  say  that  in  doing 
so  they  repaid  their  lord  Hnsef.  Their  lord,  according  to 
Holler's  view,  is  no  longer  Hnsef,  but  Finn,  who  is  seeking  their 
lives. 

Against  such  difficulties  as  these  it  is  impossible  to  make 
headway,  and  we  must  therefore  turn  to  some  more  possible 
view  of  the  situation^. 

Section  IV.    Bugge's  Theory 

Let  us  therefore  examine  the  second  theory,  which  is  more 
particularly  associated  with  the  name  of  Bugge,  though  it  was 
the  current  theory  before  his  time,  and  has  been  generally  ac- 
cepted since. 

According  to  this  view,  the  Eotenas  are  the  men  of  Finn, 
and  since  upon  them  is  placed  the  blame  for  the  trouble,  it 

1  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  give  fully  the  reasons  why  Moller's  view 
cannot  be  accepted,  because  in  whole  or  in  part  it  is  still  widely  followed  in 
England.  Chadwick  {Origin,  53)  still  interprets  "Eotens"  as  "Danes";  and 
Sedgefield  {Beowulf  (2),  p.  268)  gives  Moller's  view  the  place  of  honour. 

O.  B.  17 


258  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

must  be  Finn  that  makes  a  treacherous  attack  upon  his  wife's 
brother  Hnaef ,  who  is  his  guest  in  Finnsburg^.  This  is  the  fight  of 
which  the  Fragment  gives  us  the  beginning.  Hnsef  is  slain,and  then 
follow  the  events  as  narrated  in  the  Episode :  the  treaty  which 
Finn  makes  with  Hengest,  the  leader  of  the  survivors:  and  the 
ultimate  vengeance  taken  upon  Finn  by  these  survivors. 

Here  I  think  we  are  getting  nearer  to  facts,  nearer  to  a  view 
which  can  command  general  acceptance:  at  any  rate,  in  so  far 
as  the  fight  narrated  in  the  Fragment  is  placed  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Episode  in  Beowulf.  Positive  evidence  that  this 
is  the  right  place  for  the  Fragment  is  scanty,  yet  not  altogether 
lacking.  After  all,  the  fight  in  the  Fragment  is  a  night  attack, 
and  the  fight  which  precedes  the  Episode  in  Beowulf,  as  I  have 
tried  to  show,  is  a  night  attack  ^.  But  our  reason  for  putting 
the  Fragment  before  the  commencement  of  the  Episode  is  mainly 
negative:  it  lies  in  the  insuperable  difficulties  which  meet  us 
when  we  try  to  place  it  anywhere  else. 

But,  it  will  be  objected,  there  are  difficulties  also  in  placing 
the  Fragment  before  the  Episode.  Perhaps:  but  I  do  not  think 
these  difficulties  will  be  found  to  survive  examination. 

The  first  objection  to  supposing  that  the  Fragment  narrates 
\  the  same  fight  as  precedes  the  Episode  is,  that  the  fight  in  the 
Fragment  takes  place  at  Finnsburg^,  whilst  the  fight  which 
precedes  the  Episode  apparently  takes  place  away  from  Finn's 
capital:  for  after  the  fighting  is  over,  the  dead  burned,  and  the 
treaty  made,  the  warriors  depart  "to  see  Friesland,  their  homes, 
and  their  high-town  (hea-burh)^.'' 

^  The  treachery  of  Finn  is  emphasized,  for  example,  by  Bugge  (P.B.B. 
XII,  36),  Koegel  {GeschicMe  d.  deut.  Lift.  164),  ten  Brink  (Pauls  Grdr.  (1),  ii, 
545),  Trautmann  {Finn  und  Hildebrand,  59),  Lawrence  (Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc. 
Amer.  xxx.  397,  430),  Ayres  {J.E.G.Ph.  xvi,  290). 

2  sy|)San  morgen  com 

6a  heo  under  swegle  geseon  meahte,  etc. 

'  1.  36.  The  swords  flash  swylce  eal  Finnsburuh  fyrenu  wmre,  "as  if  all 
Finnsburg  were  afire."  I  think  we  may  safely  argue  from  this  that  the  swords 
are  flashing  near  Finnsburg.  It  would  be  just  conceivable  that  the  poet's 
mind  travels  back  from  the  scene  of  the  battle  to  Finn's  distant  home:  "the 
swords  made  as  great  a  flash  as  would  have  been  made  had  Finn's  distant 
capital  been  aflame":  but  this  is  a  weak  and  forced  interpretation,  which  we 
have  no  right  to  assume,  though  it  may  be  conceivable. 

*  Beowulf,  11.  1125-7.  I  doubt  whether  it  is  possible  to  explain  the  diffi- 
culty away  by  supposing  that  "the  warriors  departing  to  see  Friesland,  their 
homes  and  their  head-town"  simply  means  that  Finn's  men,  "summoned  by 
Finn  in  preparation  for  the  encounter  with  the  Danes,  return  to  their  respective 


Biigge's  Theory  259 

But  I  do  not  see  that  this  involves  us  in  any  difficulty.  It 
is  surely  quite  reasonable  that  Finnsburg — Finn's  castle — where 
the  first  fight  takes  place,  is  not,  and  was  never  meant  to  be, 
the  same  as  Finn's  capital,  his  heahurh,  his  "own  home."  After 
all,  when  a  king's  name  is  given  to  a  town,  the  presumption  is 
rather  that  the  town  is  not  his  capital,  but  some  new  settlement 
built  in  a  newly  acquired  territory.  Eadwineshurh  was  not  the 
capital  of  King  Eadwine:  it  was  the  stronghold  which  he  held 
against  the  Picts  on  the  outskirts  of  his  realm.  Aosta  was  not 
the  capital  of  Augustus,  nor  Fort  William  of  William  III,  nor 
Harounabad  of  Haroun  al  Raschid.  So  here:  we  know  that  the 
chief  town  of  the  Frisians  was  not  Finnsburg,  but  Dorestad: 
"Dorostates  of  the  Frisians^."  The  fight  may  have  taken  place 
at  some  outlying  castle  built  by  Finn,  and  named  after  him 
Finnsburg:  then  he  returned,  we  are  told,  to  his  heahurh:  and 
it  is  here,  ast  his  sylfes  ham,  "in  his  own  home"  (the  poet  himself 
seems  to  emphasize  a  distinction)  that  destruction  in  the  end 
comes  upon  him.     There  is  surely  no  difficulty  here. 

A  second  discrepancy  has  often  been  indicated.  In  the 
Fragment  the  fight  lasts  five  days  before  any  one  of  the  de- 
fenders fall:  in  the  Episode  (it  is  argued)  Hildeburh  in  the 
morning  finds  her  brother  slain 2.  Even  were  this  so,  I  do  not 
know  that  it  need  trouble  us  much.     In  a  detail  like  this,  which 

homes  in  the  country,"  and  that  "heaburh  is  a  high  sounding  epic  term  that 
should  not  be  pressed."  This  is  the  explanation  offered  by  Klaeber  (J.E.G.Ph. 
VI,  193)  and  endorsed  by  Lawrence  {Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxx,  401). 
But  it  seems  to  me  taking  a  liberty  with  the  text  to  interpret  heaburh  (singular) 
as  the  "respective  homes  in  the  country"  to  which  Finn's  warriors  resort  on 
demobilisation.  And  the  statement  of  11.  1125-7,  that  the  warriors  departed 
from  the  place  of  combat  to  see  Friesland,  seems  to  necessitate  that  such  place 
of  combat  was  not  in  Friesland.  Klaeber  objects  to  this  (surely  obvious) 
inference:  "If  we  are  to  infer  [from  11.  1125-7]  that  Finnsburg  lies  outside 
Friesland  proper,  we  might  as  well  conclude  that  Dyflen  (Dublin)  is  not  situated 
in  Ireland  according  to  the  Battle  of  Brunanburh  {gewitan  him  pa  NorQmenn . . . 
Dyflen  secan  and  eft  Iraland)."  But  how  could  anyone  infer  this  from  the 
Brunanburh  lines?  What  we  are  justified  in  inferring,  is,  surely,  that  the  site 
of  the  battle  of  Brunanburh  (from  which  the  Northmen  departed  to  visit  Ireland 
and  Dublin)  was  not  identical  with  Dublin,  and  did  not  lie  in  Ireland.  And 
by  exact  parity  of  reason,  we  are  justified  in  arguing  that  Finnsburg,  the  site 
of  the  first  battle  in  which  Hnsef  fell  (from  which  site  the  warriors  depart  to 
visit  Friesland  and  the  heaburh)  was  not  identical  with  the  heaburh,  and  did  not 
lie  in  Friesland.  Accordingly  the  usual  view,  that  Finnsburg  is  situated  outside 
Friesland,  seems  incontestable.  See  Bugge  {P.B.B.  xii,  29-30),  Trautman|f{v 
{Finn  und  HildebVand,  60)  and  Boer  {Z.f.d.A.  xlvii,  137).  Cf.  Ayres  {J.E.O.pM 
XVI,  294).  t'/ 

1  See  below,  p.  289.  2  go  Brandl,  984,  and  Heinzel.  '^^ 

17—2 


260  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

does  not  go  to  the  heart  of  the  story,  there  might  easily  be  a 
discrepancy  between  two  versions  ^. 

But  the  whole  difficulty  merely  arises  from  reading  more 
into  the  words  of  the  Episode  than  the  text  will  warrant.  It  is 
not  asserted  in  the  Episode  that  Hildeburh  found  her  kinsfolk 
dead  in  the  morning,  but  that  in  the  morning  she  found  "mur- 
derous bale  amid  her  kinsfolk."  Hildeburh  woke  up  to  find  a 
fight  in  progress :  how  long  it  went  on,  the  Episode  does  not  say : 
but  that  it  was  prolonged  we  gather  from  11.  1080-5 :  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  the  deadly  strife  which  Hildeburh  found  in 
the  morning  might  not  have  lasted  five  days  or  more,  before  it 
culminated  in  the  death  of  Hnsef. 

Thirdly,  the  commander  in  the  Fragment  is  called  a  "war- 
young  king."  This,  it  has  been  said,  is  inapplicable  to  Hnaef, 
since  he  is  brother  of  Hildeburh,  who  is  old  enough  to  have  a 
son  slain  in  the  combat. 

But  an  uncle  may  be  very  young.  Beowulf  speaks  of  his 
uncle  Hygelac  as  young,  even  though  he  seems  to  imply  that  his 
own  youth  is  partly  past  ^,  And  no  advantage,  but  the  reverse, 
is  gained,  even  in  this  point,  if,  following  MoUer's  hypothesis, 
and  assuming  that  the  fight  narrated  in  the  Fragment  takes 
place  after  the  treaty  with  Finn,  we  make  the  "war-young 
king"  Hengest.  For  those  who,  with  Moller,  suppose  Hengest 
to  be  brother  of  Hnaef,  will  have  to  admit  the  avuncular  diffi* 
culty  in  him  also. 

Section  V.    Some  Difficulties  in  Bugge's  Theory 

We  may  then,  I  think,  accept  as  certain,  that  first  come  the 
events  narrated  in  the  Fragment,  then  those  told  in  the  Episode 
in  Beowulf.  But  we  are  not  out  of  our  troubles  yet.  There  are 
difficulties  in  Bugge's  view  which  have  still  to  be  faced. 

The  cause  of  the  struggle,  according  to  Bugge  and  his  ad- 
herents, is  a  treacherous  attack  made  by  Finn  upon  his  brother-in- 

1  Or  just  as  the  attack  on  the  Danes  began  at  night,  we  might  suppose  (as 
does  Trautmann)  that  it  equally  culminated  in  a  night  assault  five  days  later. 
There  would  be  obvious  advantage  in  night  fighting  when  the  object  was  to 
storm  a  hall:  Flugum;frr  was  burnt  by  night,  and  so  was  the  hall  of  Njal.  So, 
too,  was  the  hall  of  Rolf  Kraki.  It  would  be,  then,  on  the  morning  after  this 
second  night  assault,  that  Hildeburh  found  her  kinsfolk  dead. 

2  Beovmlf,  1.  1831 :  of.  1.  409. 


Some  Difficulties  in  Bitgge's  Theory  261 

law  Hnsef .  According  to  the  Episode^  it  is  the  Eotens  who  are 
treacherous ;  so  Eotens  must  be  another  name  for  the  Frisians. 

The  word  occurs  three  times  in  the  genitive,  Eotena ;  once  in 
the  dative,  Eotenum:  as  a  common  noun  it  means  "giant," 
"monster":  earlier  in  Beowulf  it  is  applied  to  Grendel  and  to 
the  other  misbegotten  creatures  descended  from  Cain.  But  how 
"giant"  can  be  applied  to  the  Frisians,  or  to  either  of  the  con- 
tending parties  in  the  Finnsburg  fight,  remains  inexplicable^. 
Eotena  must  rather  be  the  name  of  some  tribe.  But  what  tribe? 
The  only  people  of  whom  we  know,  possessing  a  name  at  all 
like  this,  are  the  people  who  colonized  Kent,  whom  Bede  calls 
Jutes,  but  whose  name  would  in  Anghan  be  in  the  genitive 
Eotna,  but  in  the  dative  Eotum,  or  perhaps  occasionally  Eotnum, 
Eotenum^.  Now  a  scribe  transliterating  a  poem  from  an  Anglian 
dialect  into  West- Saxon  should,  of  course,  have  altered  these 
forms  into  the  corresponding  West-Saxon  forms  Ytena  and  Ytum. 
But  nothing  would  have  been  more  likely  than  that  he  would 
have  misunderstood  the  tribal  name  as  a  common  noun,  and 
retained  the  Anglian  forms  (altering  eotum  or  eotnum  into 
eotenum)  supposing  the  word  to  mean  "giants."  After  all,  the 
common  noun  eotenum,  "giants,"  was  quite  as  like  the  tribal  name 
Eotum,  which  the  scribe  presumably  had  before  him,  as  was  the 
correct  West-Saxon  form  of  that  name,  Ytum. 

It  is  difficult  therefore  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the 
"Eotens"  are  Jutes:  and  this  is  confirmed  by  three  other  pieces 
of  evidence,  not  convincing  in  themselves,  but  helpful  as  sub- 
sidiary arguments^. 

^  Leo  {Beonmlf,  1839,  67),  Miillenhoff  {Nordalbingische  Studien,  i,  157^), 
Rieger  (Lesefmch;  Z.f.d.Ph.  iii, 398-401),  Dederich  (Studien,  1877,  96-7),  Heyne 
(in  his  fourth  edition)  and  in  recent  times  Holthausen  have  interpreted  eoten  as 
a  common  noun  "giant,"  "monster,"  and  consequently  "foe"  in  general.  But 
they  have  failed  to  produce  any  adequate  justification  for  interpreting  eoten 
as  "foe,"  and  Holthausen,  the  modern  advocate  of  this  interpretation,  has  now 
abandoned  it.  Grundtvig { Beowulf es  Beorh,  1861,  pp.  133  etc. )  and Moller ( Voiles- 
epos,  97  etc.)  also  interpret  "giant,"  Moller  giving  an  impossible  mythological 
explanation,  which  was,  at  the  time,  widely  followed. 

2  liike  oxnum,  nefenum  (cf.  Sievers,  §  277,  Anm.  1). 

'  I  do  not  attach  much  importance  to  the  argument  which  might  be  drawn 
from  the  statement  of  Binz  {P.B.B.  xx,  185)  that  the  evidence  of  proper  names 
shows  that  in  the  Hampshire  district  (which  was  colonized  by  Jutes)  the  legend 
of  Finnsburg  was  particularly  remembered.  For  on  the  other  hand,  as  Binz 
points  out,  similar  evidence  is  markedly  lacking  for  Kent.  And  why,  indeed, 
should  the  Jutes  have  specially  commemorated  a  legend  in  which  their  part 
appears  not  to  have  been  a  very  creditable  one? 


262  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

/  (1)  We  should  gather  from  Widsith  that  the  Jutes  were 
concerned  in  the  Finnsburg  business.  For  in  that  poem  gener- 
ally (though  not  always)  tribes  connected  in  story  are  grouped 
together;  and  the  Jutes  and  Frisians  are  so  coupled:  '^^^S  "4| 

Ytum  [weold]  Gefwulf 
Fin  Folcwalding  Fresna  cynne. 

(2)  There  is  another  passage  in  Beowulf  in  which  Eotenas 
is  possibly  used  in  the  sense  of  "Jutes." 

We  have  seen  above^  that  according  to  a  Scandinavian  tra- 
dition Lotherus  was  exiled  in  Jutiam:  and  Heremod,  who  has 
been  held  to  be  the  counterpart  of  Lotherus 

mid  Eotenum  weartJ 
on  feonda  geweald  fortJ  forlacen. 

But  the  identification  of  Lotherus  and  Heremod  is  too 
hypothetical  to  carry  the  weight  of  much  argument. 

(3)  Finn  comes  into  many  Old  English  pedigrees,  which 
have  doubtless  borrowed  from  one  another.  But  the  earliest 
in  which  we  find  him,  and  the  only  one  in  which  we  find  his 
father  Folcwald,  is  that  of  the  Jutish  kings  of  Kent^.  Here, 
too,  the  name  Hengest  meets  us. 

The  view  that  the  name  "Eoten"  in  the  Finnsburg  story  is 
a  form  of  the  word  "Jute"  is,  then,  one  which  is  very  difficult 
to  reject.  It  is  one  which  has  in  the  past  been  held  by  many 
scholars  and  is,  I  think,  held  by  all  who  have  recently  expressed 
any  opinion  on  the  subject^.  But  this  renders  very  difficult  the 
assumption  of  Bugge  and  his  followers  that  the  word  "Eoten" 
is  synonymous  with  "Frisian*."     For  Frisians  were  not  Jutes. 

1  p.  97,  note  2. 

2  See  above,  p.  200.  Zimmer,  Nennius  Vindicatus,  84,  assumes  that  the 
Kentish  pedigree  borrowed  these  names  from  the  Bemician:  but  there  is  no 
evidence  for  this. 

3  Among  those  who  have  so  held  are  Kemble,  Thorpe  {Beowulf,  pp.  76-7), 
Ettmiiller  {Beowulf,  1840,  p.  23),  Bouterwek  {Germanla,  i,  389),  Grein  {Eberts 
Jahrbuch,  iv,  270),  Kohler  {Germania,  xiii,  155),  Heyne  (in  first  three  editions). 
Holder  {Beowulf,  p.  128),  ten  Brink  {Pauls  Grdr.  (1),  ii,  548),  Heinzel  {A.f.d.A. 
X,  228),  Stevenson  {Asser,  1904,  p.  169),  Schiicking  {Beowulf,  1913,  p.  321), 
Klaeber  {J.E.G.Ph.  xiv,  545),  Lawrence  {Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxx. 
393),  Moorman  {Essays  and  Studies,  v,  99),  Bjorkman  {Eigennamen  im  Beowulf , 
21). 

So  too,  with  some  hesitation,  Chadwick  {Origin,  52-3):  with  much  more 
hesitation,  Bugge  {P.B.B.  xii,  37).  Whilst  this  is  passing  through  the  press 
Holthausen  has  withdrawn  his  former  interpretation  eotena, ' '  enemies,*  in  favour 
of  Eotena  =  Eotna,  "Jutes"  {Engl.  Stud,  li,  180). 

*  P.B.B.  XII,  37. 


Some  Difficulties  in  Bugge's  Theory  263 

The  tribes  were  closely  related;  but  the  two  words  were  not 
synonymous.  The  very  lines  in  Widsithj  which  couple  Jutes 
and  Frisians  together,  as  if  they  were  related  in  story,  show 
that  the  names  were  regarded  as  those  of  distinct  tribes.  And 
this  evidence  from  Widsith  is  very  important,  because  the  com- 
piler of  that  Hst  of  names  clearly  knew  the  story  of  Finn  and 
Hnsef. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  difficulty  in  Bugge's  interpretation 
of  the  Eotens  as  Frisians.  The  outbreak  of  war,  we  are  told, 
is  due  to  the  treachery  of  the  Eotens.  This  Bugge  and  his 
followers  interpret  as  meaning  that  Finn  must  have  treacher- 
ously attacked  Hnaef.  Yet  the  poet  speaks  of  "the  warriors  of 
Finn  when  the  sudden  danger  fell  upon  them":  pa  Me  sef^r 
hegeat.  It  is  essential  to  fser  that  it  signifies  a  sudden  and  un- 
expected attack  1 :  and  the  unexpected  attack  must  have  come, 
not  upon  the  assailants  but  upon  the  assailed. 

Yet  this  difficulty,  though  it  has  been  emphasized  by  Moller^ 
and  other  opponents  of  Bugge's  view,  is  not  insuperable^,  and 
I  hope  to  show  below  that  there  is  no  real  difficulty.  But  it 
leads  us  to  a  problem  not  so  easily  surmounted.  If  Finn  made 
a  treacherous  attack  upon  Hnaef,  and  slew  him,  how  did  it  come 
that  Hengest,  and  Hnaef  s  other  men,  made  terms  with  their 
murderous  host? 

In  the  primitive  heathen  days  it  had  been  a  rule  that  the 
retainer  must  not  survive  his  vanquished  lord*.  The  ferocity 
of  this  rule  was  subsequently  softened,  and,  in  point  of  fact,  we 
do  often  hear,  after  some  great  leader  has  been  slain,  of  his 
followers  accepting  quarter  from  a  chivalrous  foe,  without  being 

1  The  cognate  of  O.E.  /«r  (Mod.  Eng.  **fear')in  other  Germanic  languages, 
such  as  Old  Saxon  and  Old  High  German,  has  the  meaning  of  "ambush."  In 
the  nine  places  where  it  occurs  in  O.E.  verse  it  has  always  the  meaning  of  a 
peril  which  comes  upon  one  suddenly,  and  is  applied,  e.g.  to  the  Day  of  Judge- 
ment (twice)  or  some  unexpected  flood  (three  times).  In  compounds /«r  con- 
veys an  idea  of  suddenness:  ''feer-deaff,  repentina  mors." 

2  Volksepos,  69. 

*  It  has  been  surmounted  in  two  ways.  ( 1 )  By  altering  eaferum  to  eaferan 
(a  very  slight  change)  and  then  making /«r  refer  to  the  final  attack  upon  Finn, 
in  which  he  certainly  was  on  the  defensive  (Lawrence,  397  etc.,  Ayres,  284, 
Trautmann,  BB.  n,  Klaeber,  Anglia,  xxviii,  443,  Holthausen).  (2)  By  making 
hie  rtffer  to  haeleff  Healf-Dena  which  follows  (Green  in  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc, 
Amer.  xxxt,  759-97);  but  this  is  forced.     See  also  below,  p.  284. 

*  Cf.  Tacitus,  Oermania,  xrv. 


264  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

therefore  regarded  as  having  acted  disgracefully^.  But,  if  Finn 
had  invited  Hnsef  and  Hnaef 's  retainers  to  be  his  guests,  and  had 
fallen  upon  them  by  treachery,  the  action  of  the  retainers  in 
coming  to  terms  with  Finn,  in  entering  his  service,  and  stipu- 
lating how  much  of  his  pay  they  shall  receive,  would  be  con- 
trary to  all  standards  of  conduct  as  understood  in  the  Heroic 
Age,  and  would  deprive  Hnaef  s  men  of  any  sympathy  the  audi- 
ence might  feel  for  them.  But  Hnaef 's  men  are  not  censured: 
they  are  in  fact  treated  most  sympathetically  in  the  Efisode, 
and  in  the  Fragment,  at  an  earlier  point  in  the  story,  they  are 
enthusiastically  applauded  ^. 

It  is  strange  enough  in  any  case  that  Hnaef's  retainers  should 
make  terms  with  the  slayer  of  their  lord.     But  it  is  not  merely 
strange,  it  is  absolutely  unintelligible,  if  we  are  to  suppose  that 
Finn  has  not  merely  slain  Hnaef,  but  has  lured  him  into  his 
I  power,  and  then  slain  him  while  a  guest. 
^  It  is  to  the  credit  of  Bugge  that  he  felt  this  difficulty:  but 

his  attempt  to  explain  it  is  hardly  satisfactory.  He  fell  back 
upon  a  parallel  between  the  story  of  the  death  of  Rolf  Kraki 
and  the  story  of  Finnshurg.  We  have  already  seen  that  the 
resemblance  is  very  close  between  the  Bjarkamdl,  which  narrates 
the  death  of  Rolf,  and  the  opening  of  the  Finnshurg  Fragment, 
The  parallel  which  Bugge  invoked  comes  from  the  sequel  to  the 
Rolf  story  ^  which  tells  how  Hiarwarus,  the  murderer  of  RoH 
Kraki,  astonished  by  the  devotion  of  Rolf's  retainers,  lamented 
their  death,  and  said  how  gladly  he  would  have  given  quarter 
to  such  men,  and  taken  them  into  his  service.  Thereupon 
Wiggo,  the  one  survivor,  who  had  previously  vowed  to  avenge 
his  lord,  and  had  concealed  himself  with  that  object,  came 
forward  and  offered  to  accept  these  terms.  Accordingly  he 
i  placed  his  hand  upon  the  hilt  of  his  new  master's  drawn  sword, 
I  as  if  about  to  swear  fealty  to  him:  but  instead  of  swearing,  he 
ran  him  through. 

"  Glorious  and  ever  memorable  hero,  who  valiantly  kept  his 
vow,"  says  Saxo*.     Whether  or  no  we  share  the  exultation  of 

^  For  examples  of  this  see  pp.  278-82  below. 

2  Fragment,  40-1.  ^  gee  above,  p.  30. 

*  Book  II  (ed.  Holder,  p.  67). 


Some  Difficulties  in  Bvjgge's  Theory  266 

that  excellent  if  somewhat  bloodthirsty  ecclesiastic,  we  must 
admit  that  Wiggo's  methods  were  sensible  and  practical.  If, 
singlehanded,  he  was  to  keep  his  vow,  and  avenge  his  lord,  he 
could  only  hope  to  do  it  by  some  such  stratagem. 

Bugge  tries  to  explain  Hengest's  action  on  similar  lines: 
"He  does  not  hesitate  to  enter  the  service  of  Finn  in  order 
thereby  to  carry  out  his  revenge^." 

But  the  circumstances  are  entirely  different.  Wiggo  was 
left  alone,  the  only  survivor  of  Rolf's  household,  to  face  a  whole 
army.  But  Hengest  is  no  single  survivor:  he  and  his  fellows 
have  made  so  good  a  defence  that  Finn  cannot  overcome  them 
by  conflict  on  the  med'el-stede.  Not  only  so,  but,  if  we  accept  the 
interpretation  that  almost  every  critic  and  editor  has  put  upon 
the  passage  (11.  1184-5),  Hengest's  position  is  even  stronger, 
Finn  has  lost  almost  all  his  thegns;  the  usual  interpretation 
puts  him  at  the  mercy  of  Hengest :  at  best  it  is  a  draw^.  If,  then, 
Hengest  wants  vengeance  upon  Finn,  why  does  he  not  pursue 
it?  Instead  of  which,  according  to  Bugge,  he  enters  Finn's 
service  in  order  that  he  may  get  an  opportunity  for  revenge. 

And  note,  that  Wiggo  did  not  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to 
the  murderer  of  his  master  Rolf:  he  merely  put  himself  in  the 
posture  to  do  so,  and  then,  instead,  ran  the  tyrant  through 
forthwith.  But  Hengest  does  swear  the  oath,  and  does  not 
forthwith  slay  the  tyrant.  He  spends  the  winter  with  him, 
receives  a  sword  from  Hunlafing,  after  which  his  name  does  not 
occur  again.  Finn  is  ultimately  slain,  but  the  names  which  are 
found  in  that  connection  are  those  of  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  [Ordlaf], 

So  Bugge's  explanation  comes  to  this:  Hengest  is  fighting 
with  success  against  Finn,  but  he  refrains  from  vengeance: 
instead,  he  treacherously  enters  his  service  in  order  that  he  may 
take  an  opportunity  of  vengeance,  which  opportunity,  however, 
it  is  never  made  clear  to  us  that  he  takes. 

Had  Hengest  been  a  man  of  that  kind,  he  would  not  have 
been  a  hero  of  Old  English  heroic  song. 

1  P.B.B.  XII,  34. 

2  For  a  discussion  of  the  interpretation  of  the  difficult  forpringan,  see 
Carlton  Brown  in  M.L.N,  xxxiv,  181-3. 


266  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

Section  VI.    Recent  Elucidations. 
Prof.  Ayres'  Comments 

It  is  one  of  the  merits  of  Bugge's  view — one  of  the  proofs 
of  its  general  soundness — that  it  admits  of  successive  improve- 
ments at  the  hands  of  succeeding  commentators.  No  one  has 
done  more  in  this  way  than  has  Prof.  Ayres  to  clear  up  the 
story,  particularly  the  latter  part  of  the  Episode.  Ayres  evolves 
unity  out  of  what  had  been  before  "a  rapid-fire  of  events  that 
hit  all  around  a  central  tragic  situation  and  do  not  once  touch 
it."  Hengest  does  not,  Ayres  thinks,  enter  the  service  of  Finn 
with  any  such  well-formed  plan  of  revenge  as  Bugge  had  attri- 
buted to  him.  Hengest  was  in  a  difficult  situation.  It  is  his 
mental  conflict,  "torn  between  his  oath  to  Finn  and  his  duty 
to  the  dead  Hnaef,"  which  gives  unity  to  all  that  follows.  It  is 
a  tragedy  of  Hengest,  hesitating,  like  Shakespeare's  Hamlet, 
over  the  duty  of  revenge.  Prof.  Ayres'  statement  here  is  too 
good  to  summarize;  it  must  be  quoted  at  length: 

"How  did  he  feel  during  that  long,  blood-stained  winter?  He 
naturally  thought  about  home  {eard  gemunde,  1129),  but  there  was  no 
question  of  sailing  then,  no  need  yet  of  decision  while  the  storm^roared 
outside.  By  and  by  spring  came  roimd,  as  it  has  a  way  of  doing. 
How  did  he  feel  then?  Then,  like  any  other  Northerner,  he  wanted 
to  put  to  sea: 

fundode  wrecpa,  - 
gist  of  geardum. 

That  is  what  he  would  naturally  do.  He  would  speak  to  Finn  and  be 
off;  in  the  spring  his  business  was  on  the  sea.  That  is  all  right  as  to 
Finn,  but  as  to  the  dead  Hnaef  it  is  very  Kke  running  away;  it  is  post- 
poning vengeance  sadly.  Will  he  prove  so  unpregnant  of  his  cause 
as  that?  No;  though  he  would  like  to  go  to  sea,  he  thought  rather  of 
vengeance,  and  staid  in  the  hope  of  managing  a  successful  surprise 
against  Finn  and  his  people: 

he  to  gyrn-wraece 
swiSor  ]?6hte  ]?onne  to  s£e-lade, 

gif  he  torn-gemot        ]?urhteon  mihte, 
)?3et  he  Eotena  beam      inne  gemunde. 

All  this  says  clearly  that  Hengest  was  thinking  things  over,  whether 
he  should  or  should  not  take  vengeance  upon  Finn;  it  tells  us  also 
very  clearly,  with  characteristic  anticipation  of  the  outcome  of  the 
story,  that  in  the  end  desire  for  vengeance  carried  the  day: 

Swa  he  ne-forwyrnde        worold-rsedenne, 

he  did  not  thus  prove  recreant  to  his  duty.  But  we  have  not  been 
told  the  steps  by  which  Hengest  arrived  at  his  decision.     That  seems 


Recent  Elucidations  267 

to  be  what  we  should  naturally  want  to  know  at  this  point,  and  that 
is  precisely  what  we  are  about  to  be  told.  Occasions  gross  as  earth 
informed  against  him^." 

Then  Ayres  goes  on  to  explain  the  "egging,"  through  the 
presentation  of  a  sword  by  Hunlafing.  This  feature  of  the  story 
is  now  pretty  generally  so  understood ;  but  Ayres  has  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  part  played  by  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf ,  which  is  new 
and  enlightening. 

"Hengest's  almost  blunted  purpose  was  not  whetted  by  Hunlafing 
alone.  The  latter's  uncles,  GuSlaf  and  Oslaf  [Ordlaf]  took  occasion 
to  mention  to  Hengest  the  fierce  attack  (the  one,  presumably,  in  which 
Hnaef  had  fallen);  cast  up  to  him  all  the  troubles  that  had  befallen 
them  ever  since  their  disastrous  sea- journey  to  Finnsburg;  they  had 
plenty  of  woes  to  twit  him  with: 

sitySan  grimne  gripe        GuSlaf  and  Oslaf 
aefter  see-siSe        sorge  meendon, 
aetwiton  weana  diel. 
The  eflFect  of  all  this  on  Hengest  is  cumulative.     Where  he  was 
before  in  perfect  balance,  he  is  now  wrought  to  action  by  the  words 
of  his  followers;  he  can  control  himself  no  longer;  the  balance  is 
destroyed.     The  restless  spirit  (Hengest's  in  the  first  instance,  but  it 
may  be  thought  of  as  referring  to  the  entire  attacking  party,  now  of 
one  mind)  could  no  longer  restrain  itself  within  the  breast: 

ne  meahte  wsefre  mod 
f  orhabban  in  hre'Sre. 
Vengeance  wins  the  day  2." 

By  this  interpretation  Ayres  has,  as  he  claims,  "sharpened 
some  of  the  features"  of  the  current  interpretation  of  the  Finn 
story.  For,  as  he  says,  "in  some  respects  the  current  version 
was  very  unsatisfactory;  there  seemed  to  be  little  relation  be- 
tween the  presentation  of  the  sword  to  Hengest  and  the  spectacle 
of  GuSlaf  and  Oslaf  howling  their  complaints  in  the  face  of 
Finn." 

That  Ayres'  interpretation  enhances  the  coherency  of  the 
story  is  beyond  dispute:  that  it  does  so  at  the  cost  of  putting 
some  strain  upon  the  text  in  one  or  two  places  may  perhaps  be 
urged  3.  But  that  in  its  main  lines  it  is  correct  seems  to  me 
certain:  the  story  of  Finnsburg  is  the  tragedy  of  Hengest — his 
hesitation  and  his  revenge.  Keeping  this  well  in  view,  many 
of  the  difficulties  disappear. 

1  J.E.Q.Ph.  XVI,  291-2.  2  lb.  293-4. 

*  I  wish  I  could  feel  convinced,  with  Ayres,  that  the  person  whom  Guthlaf 
and  Oslaf  blame  for  their  woes  is  Hengest  rather  than  Finn.  Such  an  inter- 
pretation renders  the  story  so  much  more  coherent;  but  if  the  poet  really  meant 
this,  he  assuredly  did  not  make  his  meaning  quite  clear. 


268  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

Section  VII.    Problems  still  outstanding 

Many  of  the  difficulties  disappear:  but  the  two  big  ones  re- 
main. Firstly,  if  "  Eoten  "  means  "  Jute,"  as  it  is  usually  agreed 
that  it  does,  why  should  the  Frisians  be  called  Jutes,  seeing 
that  a  Frisian  is  not  a  Jute?  Secondly,  when  Hengest  and  the 
other  thegns  of  Hnsef  enter  the  service  of  the  slayer  of  their 
lord,  they  are  not  blamed  for  so  doing,  but  rather  excused, 
pa  him  swd gepearfod  wses.  Such  a  situation  is  unusual;  but  it 
becomes  incredible  if  that  slayer,  whose  service  they  enter, 
had  fallen  upon  and  slain  their  lord  by  treachery,  when  his 
guest. 

It  seems  to  me  that  neither  of  these  difficulties  is  really 
inherent  in  the  situation,  but  rather  accidental,  and  owing  to 
the  way  Bugge's  theory,  right  enough  in  its  main  lines,  has  been 
presented  both  by  Bugge  and  his  followers.  For  it  is  not 
necessary  to  assume  that  Frisians  are  called  Eotenas  or  Jutes. 
All  that  we  are  justified  in  deducing  from  the  text  is  that 
Frisians  and  Eotenas  are  both  under  the  command  of  Finn.  If 
we  suppose  what  the  text  demands,  and  no  more,  we  are  at  one 
stroke  relieved  of  both  our  difficulties.  Though  "Jute"  can 
hardly  have  been  synonymous  with  *' Frisian,"  nothing  is  more 
probable,  as  I  shall  try  to  show  ^,  than  that  a  great  Frisian  king 
should  have  had  a  tribe  of  Jutes  subject  to  him,  or  should  have 
had  in  his  pay  a  band  of  Jutish  mercenaries.  Now  if  the  trouble 
was  due  to  these  "Eotens" — and  we  are  told  that  it  was^ — our 
second  difficulty  is  also  solved.  It  would  be  much  more  natural 
for  Hengest  to  come  to  terms  with  Finn,  albeit  the  hana  of 
his  lord,  if  Finn's  conduct  had  not  been  stained  by  treachery, 
and  if  the  blame  for  the  original  attack  did  not  rest  with 
him. 

And,  as  I  have  said,  there  is  nothing  in  the  text  which 
justifies  us  in  assuming  that  Eotenas  means  "Frisians"  and  that 
therefore  Eotena  treowe  refers  to  Finn's  breach  of  faith.  It  has 
indeed  been  argued  that  Eotenas  and  Frisians  are  synonymous, 

1  See  below,  pp.  276,  288-9. 

2  Ne  huru  Hildeburh  herian  J>orfte 
Eotena  treowe. 


Problems  still  outstanding  269 

because  in  the  terms  of  peace,  whilst  it  is  stipulated  that  Hengest 
and  his  comrades  are  to  have  equal  control  with  the  Eotena 
beam,  it  is  further  stipulated  that  Finn  is  to  give  Hengest' s  men 
gifts  equal  to  those  which  he  gives  to  the  Fresena  cynn^.  Here 
then  Eotena  beam  and  Fresena  cynn  are  certainly  parallel,  and 
are  both  contrasted  with  Hengest  and  his  troops.  But  surely 
this  in  no  wise  proves  Eotena  beam  and  Fresena  cynn  synony- 
mous: they  may  equally  well  be  different  sections  of  Finn's  host, 
just  as  in  Brunanburh  the  soldiers  of  Athelstan  are  spoken  of 
first  as  Westseaxey  and  then  as  Myrce.  Are  we  to  argue  that 
West-Saxons  are  Mercians?  So. in  the  account  of  Hygelac's 
fatal  expedition^  the  opponents  are  called  Franks,  Frisians, 
HugaSy  Hetware,  A  reader  ignorant  of  the  story  might  suppose 
these  all  synonymous  terms  for  one  tribe.  But  we  know  that 
they  are  not :  the  Netware  were  the  people  immediately  attacked 
— ^the  Frankish  overlord  hastened  to  the  rescue,  and  was  ap- 
parently helped  by  the  neighbouring  Frisians,  who  although 
frequently  at  this  date  opposed  to  the  Franks,  would  naturally 
make  common  cause  against  the  pirate  from  overseas^. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  the  earUer  students  of  the  Finns- 
burg  Episode,  thinking  of  the  two  opposing  forces  as  two  homo- 
geneous tribes,  and  finding  mention  of  three  tribal  names,  Danes, 
Eotens  and  Frisians,  should  have  assumed  that  the  Eotens  must 
be  exactly  synonymous  with  either  Danes  or  Frisians.  But  it 
is  now  recognized  that  the  conditions  of  the  time  postulate  not 
so  much  tribes  as  groups  of  tribes  *.  In  the  Fragment  we  have,  on 
the  side  of  the  Danes,  Sigeferth,  prince  of  the  Secgan,  The  Secgan 
are  not  necessarily  Danes,  because  their  lord  is  fighting  on  the 
Danish  side.  Neither  need  the  Eotenas  be  Frisians,  because 
they  are  fighting  on  the  Frisian  side. 

We  cannot,  then,  argue  that  two  tribes  are  identical,  because 
engaged  in  fighting  a  common  foe:  still  less,  because  they  are 

1  Ayres,  in  J.E.Q.Ph.  xvi,  286.     So  Lawrence  in  a  private  communication. 

2  U.  2910,  etc. 

*  Wfe  can  construct  the  situation  from  such  historical  information  as  we 
can  get  from  Gregory  of  Tours  and  other  sources.  The  author  of  Beoivulf  may 
not  have  been  clear  as  to  the  exact  relation  of  the  different  tribes.  We  cannot 
tell,  from  the  vague  way  he  speaks,  how  much  he  knew. 

*  I  have  argued  this  at  some  length  below,  but  I  do  not  think  anyone  would 
deny  it.  Bugge  recognized  it  to  be  true  {P.B.B.  xii,  29-30)  as  does  Lawrence 
(392).    See  below,  pp.  288-9. 


270  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

^  mentioned  with  a  certain  parallelism^.  And  anyway,  it  is  im- 
possible to  find  in  the  use  of  the  expression  Eotena  beam  in 
1.  1088  any  support  for  the  interpretation  which  makes  Eotena 
treowe  signify  the  treachery  of  Finn  himself.  For,  assuredly, 
the  proviso  that  Hengest  and  his  fellows  are  to  have  half  control 
as  against  the  Eotena  beam  does  not  mean  that  they  are  to  have 
half  control  as  against  Finn  himself.  For  the  very  next  lines 
make  it  clear  that  they  are  to  enter  Finn's  service  and  become 
his  retainers.  That  Hengest  and  his  men  are  to  have  equal 
rights  with  Finn's  Jutish  followers  (Eotena  beam)  is  reasonable 
enough:  but  they  obviously  have  not  equal  rights  with  Finn, 
their  lord  whom  they  are  now  to  follow.  Eotena  beam  in  1. 1088, 
then,  does  not  include  Finn:  how  can  it  then  be  used  as  an 
argument  that  Eotena  treowe  must  refer  to  Finn's  faith  and  his 
breach  of  it? 

Finn,  then,  is  the  bana  of  Hnaef,  but  there  is  nothing  in  the 
/  text  which  compels  us  to  assume  that  he  is  the  slayer  of  his 
guest. 

The  reader  may  regard  my  zeal  to  clear  the  character  of  Finn 
as  excessive.  But  it  is  always  worth  while  to  understand  a  good 
/  old  tale.  And  it  is  only  when  we  withdraw  our  unjust  asper- 
sions upon  Finn's  good  faith  that  the  tale  becomes  intelligible. 

This,  I  know,  has  been  disputed,  and  by  the  scholars  whose 
opinion  I  most  respect. 

The  poet  tells  us  that  Finn  was  the  bana  of  Hnsef,  so,  says 
Ayres,  "it  is  hard  to  see  how  it  helps  matters^"  to  argue  that 
Finn  was  not  guilty  of  treachery.  And  Lawrence  argues  in  the 
same  way: 

"How  is  it  possible  to  shift  the  blame  for  the  attack  from  Fimi  to 
the  Eotenas  when  Finn  is  called  the  bana  of  Hnsef?  It  does  not 
matter  whether  he  killed  him  with  his  own  hands  or  not;  he  is  clearly 
held  responsible;  the  lines  tell  us  it  was  regarded  as  disgraceful  for  the 

1  We  can  never  argue  that  words  are  synonymous  because  they  are  parallel. 
Compare  Psalm  cxiv;  in  the  first  verse  the  parallel  words  are  synonymous,  but 
in  the  second  and  third  not : 

"When  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt  and  the  house  of  Jacob  from  among  the 
strange  people"  [Israel  =  house  of  Jacob:  Egypt  =  strange  people]. 

"  Judah  was  His  sanctuary  and  Israel  His  dominion."  [Judah  is  only  one 
of  the  tribes  of  Israel.] 

"The  sea  saw  that  and  fled:  Jordan  was  driven  back."  [The  Red  Sea  and 
Jordan  are  distinct,  though  parallel,  examples.] 

a  J.E.G.Ph.  XVI,  288. 


Problems  still  outstanding  271 

Danes  to  have  to  follow  him,  and  the  revenge  at  the  end  falls  heavily 
upon  him.  The  insult  and  hurt  to  Danish  pride  would  be  very  little 
lessened  by  the  assumption  that  someone  else  started  the  quarrel;  and 
for  this  assumption,  too,  the  lines  give  no  warrant^." 

Let  US  take  these  objections  in  turn.  I  do  not  see  how  the 
fact  that  Finn  is  called  the  bana  of  Hnsef  can  prove  anything  as 
to  "the  blame  for  the  attack."  Of  course  the  older  editors 
may  have  thought  so.  Kemble  translates  bana  "slaughterer," 
which  implies  brutality,  and  perhaps  culpabihty.  Bosworth- 
Toller  renders  bana  "murderer,"  which  certainly  implies  blame 
for  attack.  But  we  know  that  these  are  mere  mistranslations. 
Nothing  as  to  "blame  for  attack"  is  implied  in  the  term  bana: 
*^bana  'slayer'  is  a  perfectly  neutral  word,  and  must  not  be 
translated  by  'murderer,'  or  any  word  connoting  criminahty. 
A  man  who  slays  another  in  self-defence,  or  in  righteous  execu- 
tion of  the  law,  is  still  his  *  bane '2."  Everyone  admits  this  to 
be  true:  and  yet  at  the  same  time  banu  is  quoted  to  prove  that 
Finn  is  to  blame;  because,  for  want  of  a  better  word,  we  half- 
consciously  render  bana  "  murderer  " :  and  "murderer  "  does  imply 
blame.  "Words,"  says  Bacon,  "as  a  Tartars  bow,  do  shoot 
back  upon  the  understanding  of  the  wisest." 

Lawrence  continues:  "The  lines  tell  us  that  it  was  regarded 
as  disgraceful  for  the  Danes  to  have  to  follow  him."  But  surely 
this  is  saying  too  much.  That  the  Frisians  are  not  to  taunt  the 
Danes  with  following  the  slayer  of  their  lord  is  only  one  of  two 
possible  interpretations  of  the  11.  1101-3.  And  even  if  we 
accept  this  interpretation,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  Danes 
are  regarded  as  having  done  anything  with  which  they  can  be 
justly  taunted.  It  is  part  of  the  settlement  between  Gunnar 
and  Njal,  that  Njal's  sons  are  not  to  be  taunted:  if  a  man  repeats 
the  taunts  he  shall  fall  unavenged^.  Surely  a  man  may  be 
touchy  about  being  taunted,  without  being  regarded  as  having 
done  anything  disgraceful.  Indeed,  in  our  case,  the  poet  im- 
plies that  taunts  would  not  be  just,  pa  him  swd  gepearfod  waes. 
But,  as  I  try  to  show  below,  no  pearf  could  have  excused  the 
submission  of  retainers  to  a  foe  who  had  just  slain  their  lord  by 
deliberate  treachery. 

1  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxx,  430. 

2  Plummer,  Two  Saxon  Chronicles  Parallel,  ii,  47. 
•  Nj^  Saga,  cap.  45. 


272  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

"The  revenge  at  the  end  falls  heavily  upon  Finn."  It  does; 
as  so  often  happens  where  the  feud  is  temporarily  patched  up, 
it  breaks  out  again,  as  in  the  stories  of  Alboin,  Ingeld  or  Bolli. 
But  this  does  not  prove  that  the  person  upon  whom  the  revenge 
ultimately  falls  heavily  had  been  a  guest-slayer.  The  possi- 
bility of  even  temporary  reconciliation  rather  implies  the  reverse. 

"The  insult  and  hurt  to  Danish  pride  would  be  very  little 
lessened  by  the  assumption  that  someone  else  [than  Finn] 
started  the  quarrel ;  and  for  this  assumption,  too,  the  lines  give 
no  warrant."  But  they  do:  for  they  tell  us  that  it  was  due 
to  the  bad  faith  of  the  Eotens.  Commentators  may  argue,  if 
they  will,  that  "Eotens"  means  Finn.  But  the  weight  of  proof 
lies  on  them,  and  they  have  not  met  it,  or  seriously  attempted 
to  meet  it. 

Section  VIII.    The  Weight  of  Proof:  the  Eotens 

Finn  is  surely  entitled  to  be  held  innocent  till  he  can  be 
proved  guilty.  And  the  argument  for  his  guilt  comes  to  this: 
the  trouble  was  due  to  the  bad  faith  of  the  Eotens:  "Eotens" 
means  "Jutes":  "Jutes"  means  "Frisians":  "Frisians"  means 
"Finn" :  therefore  the  trouble  was  due  to  the  treachery  of  Finn. 

Now  I  agree  that  it  is  probable  that  Eotenas  means  Jutes; 
and,  as  I  have  said,  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  a  Frisian 
king  having  had  a  clan  of  Jutes,  or  a  body  of  Jutish  mercen- 
aries, subject  to  him.  But  that  the  Frisians  as  a  whole  should 
be  called  Jutes  is,  j)er  se,  exceedingly  improbable,  and  we  have 
no  shadow  of  evidence  for  it.  Lawrence  tries  to  justify  it  by 
the  authority  of  Siebs: 

"Siebs,  perhaps  the  foremost  authority  on  Frisian  conditions,  con- 
jectures that. .  .the  occupation  by  the  Frisians  of  Jutish  territory  after 
the  conquest  of  Britain  assisted  the  confusion  between  the  two  names." 

But  did  the  Frisians  occupy  Jutish  territory?     When  we  ask 

what  is  Siebs'  authority  for  the  hypothesis  that  Frisians  occupied 

Jutish  territory,  we  find  it  to  be  this:  that  because  in  Beowulf 

"Jute"  means  "Frisian,"  some  such  event  must  have  taken 

place  to  account  for  this  nomenclature^.     So  it  comes  to  this: 

the  Frisians  must  have  been  called  Jutes,  because  they  occupied 

1  Pauls  Grdr.  (2),  ii,  524. 


I 


The  Weight  of  Proof:  the  Eotem  273 

Jutish  territory:  the  Frisians  must  have  occupied  Jutish  terri- 
tory because  they  are  called  Jutes.  I  do  not  think  we  could 
have  a  better  example  of  what  Prof.  Tupper  calls  "philological 
legend." 

Siebs  rejects  Bede's  statement,  which  places  the  Jutes  in 
what  is  now  Jutland :  he  believes  them  to  have  been  immediately 
adjacent  to  the  Frisians.  For  this  belief  that  the  Jutes  were 
immediate  neighbours  of  the  Frisians  there  is,  of  course,  some 
support,  though  not  of  a  very  convincing  kind:  but  the  belief 
that  the  Frisians  occupied  the  territory  of  these  adjacent  Jutes 
rests,  so  far  as  I  know,  solely  upon  this  identification  of  the 
jKoiewos-Jutes  with  the  Frisians,  which  it  is  then  in  turn  used 
to  prove. 

But  if  by  Jutes  we  understand  (following  Bede)  a  people 
dwelUng  north  of  the  Angles,  in  or  near  the  peninsula  of 
Jutland,  then  it  is  of  course  true  that  (at  a  much  later  date) 
a  colony  of  Frisians  did  occupy  territory  which  is  near  Jutland, 
and  which  is  sometimes  included  in  the  name  "Jutland."  But, 
as  I  have  tried  to  show  above,  this  "North  Frisian"  colony 
belongs  to  a  period  much  later  than  that  of  the  Finn-story:  we 
have  no  reason  whatever  to  suppose  that  the  Frisians  of  the 
Finn  story  are  the  North  Frisians  of  Sylt  and  the  adjoining 
islands  and  mainland — the  Frisiones  qui  habitabant  Juthlandie^. 

And  when  we  have  assumed,  without  evidence,  that,  at  the 
period  with  which  we  are  dealing,  Frisians  had  occupied  Jutish 
territory,  we  are  then  further  asked  to  assume  that,  from  this 
settlement  in  Jutish  territory,  such  Frisians  came  to  be  called 
Jutes.  Now  this  is  an  hypothesis  fer  se  conceivable,  but  very 
improbable.  Throughout  the  whole  Heroic  Age,  for  a  thousand 
years  after  the  time  of  Tacitus,  Germanic  tribes  were  moving, 
and  occupying  the  territory  of  other  people.  During  this  period, 
how  many  instances  can  we  find  in  which  a  tribe  took  the  name 
of  the  people  whose  territory  it  occupied?  Even  where  the 
name  of  the  new  home  is  adopted,  the  old  tribal  name  is  not 
adopted.  For  instance,  the  Bavarians  occupied  the  territory  of 
the  Celtic  Boii,  but  they  did  not  call  themselves  Boii,  but 
Bai(haim)varii,  "the  dwellers  in  the  land  of  the  Boii" — a  very 

1  Helmhold- 
c.  B.  18 


274  The  Fight  at  Fmnsburg 

different  thing.  In  the  same  way  the  Jutes  who  settled  in  the 
land  of  the  Cantii  did  not  call  themselves  Kente,  but  Cantware, 
"dwellers  in  Cantium."  Of  course,  where  the  old  name  of  a 
country  survives,  it  does  often  in  the  long  run  come  to  be  applied 
to  its  new  inhabitants;  but  this  takes  many  ages.  It  was  not 
till  a  good  thousand  years  after  the  English  had  conquered  the 
land  of  the  Britons,  that  Englishmen  began  to  speak  and  think 
of  themselves  as  "Britons."  In  feudal  or  18th  century  days  all 
the  subjects  of  the  ruler  of  Britain,  Prussia,  Austria,  may  come 
to  be  called  British,  Prussians,  Austrians.  But  this  is  no  argu- 
ment for  the  period  with  which  we  are  deaHng.  The  assumption, 
then,  that  a  body  of  Frisians,  simply  because  they  inhabited 
land  which  had  once  been  inhabited  by  Jutes,  should  have 
;  called  themselves  Jutes,  is  so  contrary  to  all  we  know  of  tribal 
;  nomenclature  at  this  date,  that  one  could  only  accept  it  if  com- 
pelled by  very  definite  evidence  to  do  so.  And  of  such  evidence 
there  is  no  seraph.  Neither  is  there  a  scrap  of  evidence  for  the 
underlying  hypothesis  that  any  Frisians  were  settled  at  this  date 
in  Jutish  territory. 

And  as  if  this  were  not  hypothetical  enough,  a  further  hypo- 
thesis has  then  to  be  built  upon  it:  viz.,  that  this  name  "Jutes," 
belonging  to  such  of  the  Frisians  as  had  settled  in  Jutish  terri- 
tory, somehow  became  applicable  to  Frisians  as  a  whole.  Now 
this  might  conceivably  have  happened,  but  only  as  a  result  of 
certain  political  events.  If  the  Jutish  Frisians  had  become  the 
governing  element  in  Frisia,  it  would  be  conceivable.  But  after 
all,  we  know  something  about  Frisian  history,  and  I  do  not 

1  I  know  of  only  one  parallel  for  such  assumed  adoption  of  a  name :  that  also 
concerns  the  Jutes.  The  Angles,  says  Bede,  dwelt  between  the  Saxons  and 
Jutes :  the  Jutes  must,  then,  according  to  Bede,  have  dwelt  north  of  the  Angles, 
since  the  Saxons  dwelt  south.  But  the  people  north  of  the  Angles  are  now, 
and  have  been  from  early  times,  Scandinavian  in  speech,  whilst  the  Jutes  who 
settled  Kent  obviously  were  not.  The  best  way  of  harmonizing  known  lin- 
guistic facts  with  Bede's  statement  is,  then,  to  assume  that  Scandinavians 
settled  in  the  old  continental  home  of  these  Jutes  and  took  over  their  name, 
whilst  introducing  the  Scandinavian  speech. 

Now  many  scholars  have  regarded  this  as  so  forced  and  unlikely  an  explana- 
tion that  they  reject  it,  and  refuse  to  believe  that  the  Jutes  who  settled  Kent 
can  have  dwelt  north  of  the  Angles,  in  spite  of  Bede's  statement.  If  we  are 
asked  to  reject  the  "Scandinavian- Jute"  theory,  as  too  unlikely  on  a  priori 
grounds,  although  it  is  demanded  by  the  express  evidence  of  Bede,  it  is  surely 
absurd  to  put  forward  a  precisely  similar  theory  in  favour  of  "  Frisian- Jutes " 
upon  no  evidence  at  all. 


The  Weight  of  Proof:  the  Eotens  276 

think  we  are  at  liberty  to  assume  any  such  changes  as  would 
have  enabled  the  Frisian  people,  as  a  whole,  to  be  called  Jutes. 
How  is  it  that  we  never  get  any  hint  anywhere  of  this  Jutish 
preponderance  and  Jutish  ascendancy? 

The  argument  that  the  "treachery  of  the  Jutes"  means  the 
treachery  of  Finn,  King  of  the  Frisians,  has,  then,  no  support 
at  all. 

One  further  argument  there  is,  for  attributing  treason  to 
Finn. 

It  has  been  urged  that  in  other  stories  a  husband  entraps 
and  betrays  the  brother  of  his  wife.  But  we  are  not  justified 
in  reading  pieces  of  one  story  into  another,  unless  we  believe 
the  two  stories  to  be  really  connected.  The  Signy  of  the  VqI- 
sunga  Saga  has  been  quoted  as  a  parallel  to  Hildeburh^.  Signy 
leaves  the  home  of  her  father  Volsung  and  her  brother  Sigmund 
to  wed  King  Siggeir.  Siggeir  invites  the  kin  of  his  wife  to  visit 
him,  and  then  slays  Volsung  and  all  his  sons,  save  Sigmund. 
But  it  is  the  difference  of  the  story,  rather  than  its  likeness, 
which  is  striking.  No  hint  is  ever  made  of  any  possibility  of 
reconciliation  between  Siggeir  and  the  kin  of  the  men  he  has 
slain.  The  feud  admits  of  no  atonement,  and  is  continued  to 
the  utterance.  Siggeir's  very  wife  helps  her  brother  Sigmund 
to  his  revenge. 

How  different  from  the  attitude  of  Sigmund  and  Signy  is  the 
willingness  of  Hengest  to  come  to  terms,  and  the  merely  passive 
and  elegiac  bearing  of  Hildeburh !  These  things  do  not  suggest 
that  we  ought  to  read  a  King  Siggeir  treachery  into  the  story 
of  Finn. 

Again,  the  fact  that  Atli  entices  the  brother  of  his  wife  into 
his  power,  has  been  urged  as  a  parallel.  But  surely  it  is  rather 
unfair  to  erect  this  into  a  kind  of  standard  of  conduct  for  the 
early  Germanic  brother-in-law,  and  to  assume  as  a  matter  of 
course  that,  because  Finn  is  Hnsef's  brother-in-law,  therefore  he 
must  have  sought  to  betray  him.  The  whole  atmosphere  of  the 
Finn-Hnaef  story,  with  its  attempted  reconciliation,  is  as  op- 
posed to  that  of  the  story  of  Atli  as  it  is  to  the  story  of  Siggeir. 

1  Koegel  (164),  Lawrence  (382). 

18—2 


276  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

The  only  epithet  applied  to  Finn  is  ferh&-freca,  "valiant  in 
soul."  Though  freca  is  not  necessarily  a  good  word,  and  is 
applied  to  the  dragon  as  well  as  to  Beowulf,  yet  it  denotes  grim, 
fierce,  almost  reckless  courage.  It  does  not  suggest  a  traitor 
who  invites  his  foes  to  his  house,  and  murders  them  by  night. 

I  interpret  the  lines,  then,  as  meaning  that  the  trouble  arose 
from  the  Jutes,  and,  since  the  context  shows  that  these  Jutes 
were  on  Finn's  side,  and  against  the  Danes,  we  must  hold  them 
to  be  a  body  of  Jutes  in  the  service  of  Finn^. 

Section  IX.    Ethics  of  the  Blood  Feud 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  objected  that  this  interpretation 
of  the  situation,  absolving  Finn  from  any  charge  of  treachery 
or  aggression,  does  not  "help  matters^."  Or,  as  Prof.  Lawrence 
puts  it,  "the  hurt  to  Danish  pride  [in  entering  the  service  of 
Finn]  would  be  very  little  lessened  by  the  assumption  that  some- 
one else  [than  Finn]  started  the  quarrel." 

These  objections  seem  to  me  to  be  contrary  to  the  whole 
spirit  of  the  old  heroic  literature. 

I  quite  admit  that  there  is  a  stage  in  primitive  society  when 
the  act  of  slaying  is  everything,  and  the  circumstances,  or 
motives,  do  not  count.  In  the  Levitical  Law,  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that,  if  a  man  innocently  causes  the  death  of  another, 
as  for  instance  if  his  axe  break,  and  the  axe-head  accidentally 
kill  his  comrade,  then  the  avenger  of  blood  will  seek  to  slay  the 
homicide,  just  as  much  as  if  he  had  been  guilty  of  treacherous 
murder.  To  meet  such  cases  the  Cities  of  Refuge  ar6  estab- 
lished, where  the  homicide  may  flee  till  his  case  can  be  investi- 
gated; but  even  though  found  innocent,  the  homicide  may  be 
at  once  slain  by  the  avenger,  should  he  step  outside  the  City  of 
Refuge.  And  this  "eye  for  eye"  vengeance  yields  slowly:  it 
took  long  to  establish  legally  in  our  own  country  the  distinction 
between  murder  and  homicide. 

1  Bjorkman  {Eigennamen  im  Beowulf,  23)  interprets  the  Eotenas  as  Jutish 
subjects  of  Finn.  This  suggestion  was  made  quite  independently  of  anything 
I  had  written,  and  confirms  me  in  my  belief  that  it  is  a  reasonable  interpreta- 
tion. 

2  Ayres  in  J.E.Q.Ph.  xvi,  288. 


Ethics  of  the  Blood  Fevd  277 

For  "The  thought  of  man"  it  was  held  "shall  not  be  tried: 
as  the  devil  himself  knoweth  not  the  thought  of  man."  Never- 
theless, even  the  Germanic  wer-gild  system  permits  consideration 
of  circumstances:  it  often  happens  that  no  wer-gild  is  to  be  paid 
because  the  slain  man  has  been  unjust,  or  the  aggressor^,  or  no 
wer-gild  will  be  accepted  because  the  slaying  was  under  circun>- 
stances  making  settlement  impossible. 

Doubtless  in  Germanic  barbarism  there  was  once  a  stage 
similar  to  that  which  must  have  preceded  the  establishment  of 
the  Cities  of  Eefuge  in  Israel^;  but  that  stage  had  passed  before 
the  period  with  which  we  are  dealing;  in  the  Heroic  Age  the 
motive  did  count  for  a  very  great  deal.  Not  but  what  there 
were  still  the  literal  people  who  insisted  upon  "an  eye  for  an 
eye,"  without  looking  at  circumstances;  and  these  people  often 
had  their  way;  but  their  view  is  seldom  the  one  taken  by  the 
characters  with  whom  the  poet  or  the  saga-man  sympathises. 
These  generally  hold  a  more  moderate  creed.  One  may  almost 
say  that  the  leading  motive  in  heroic  literature  is  precisely  this 
difference  of  opinion  between  the  people  who  hold  that  under 
any  circumstances  it  is  shameful  to  come  to  an  agreement  with 
the  bana  of  one's  lord  or  friend  or  kinsman,  and  the  people  who 
are  willing  under  certain  circumstances  to  come  to  such  an 
agreement. 

,  It  happens  not  infrequently  that  after  some  battle  in  which 
a  great  chief  has  been  killed,  his  retainers  are  offered  quarter, 
and  accept  it;  but  I  do  not  remember  any  instance  of  their 
doing  this  if,  instead  of  an  open  battle,  it  is  a  case  of  a  trea- 
cherous attack.  The  two  most  famous  downfalls  of  Northern 
princes  afford  typical  examples:  after  the  battle  of  Svold, 
Kolbjorn  Stallari  accepts  quarter  from  Eric,  the  chivalrous  bani 
of  his  lord  Olaf^;  but  Rolf's  men  refuse  quarter  after  the  trea- 
cherous murder  of  their  lord  by  Hiarwarus*. 

^  e.g.  Njdls  Saga,  cap.  144:  Laxdsela  Saga,  cap.  51. 

2  Of  course  a  primitive  stage  can  be  conceived  at  which  homicide  is  regarded 
as  worse  than  murder.  Your  brother  shoots  A  intentionally :  he  must  therefore 
have  had  good  reasons,  and  you  fraternally  support  him.  But  you  may  feel 
legitimate  annoyance  if  he  aims  at  a  stag,  and  shooting  A  by  mere  misadventure, 
involves  you  in  a  blood-feud. 

'  Heimskritigla,  6l.  Tryggv.  K.  Ill;  Saga  Olafs  Tryggvasonar,  K.  70  {Forri' 
manna  Sggur,  1835,  x.) 

*  Saxo  Grammaticus  (ed.  Holder,  p.  67). 


278  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

That  men,  after  a  fair  fight,  could  take  quarter  from,  or  give 
it  to,  those  who  had  slain  their  lord  or  closest  kinsman,  is  shown 
by  abundant  references  in  the  sagas  and  histories.  For  instance, 
when  Eric,  after  the  fight  with  the  Jomsvikings, 'offers  quarter 
to  his  prisoners,  that  quarter  is  accepted,  even  though  their 
leaders,  their  nearest  kin,  and  their  friends  have  been  slain. 
The  first  to  receive  quarter  is  young  Sigurd,  whose  father  Bui 
has  just  been  killed:  yet  the  writer  obviously  does  not  the  less 
sympathize  with  Sigurd,  or  with  the  other  Jomsviking  sur- 
vivors, and  feels  the  action  to  be  generous  on  the  part  of  Eric, 
and  in  no  wise  base  on  the  part  of  the  Jomsvikings^.  But  this 
is  natural,  because  the  Jomsvikings  have  just  been  defeated  by 
Eric  in  fair  fight.  It  would  be  impossible,  if  Eric  were  repre- 
sented as  a  traitor,  slaying  the  Jomsvikings  by  a  treacherous 
attack,  whilst  they  were  his  guests.  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that 
Sigurd,  under  such  circumstances,  would  have  taken  quarter 
from  the  slayer  of  Bui  his  father? 

In  the  Laxdasla  Saga,  Olaf  the  Peacock,  in  exacting  ven- 
geance for  the  slaying  of  his  son  Kjartan,  shows  no  leniency 
towards  the  sons  of  Osvif,  on  whom  the  moral  responsibility 
rests.  But  he  accepts  compensation  in  money  from  Bolli,  who 
had  been  drawn  into  the  feud  against  his  will.  Yet  Bolli  was 
the  actual  slayer  of  Kjartan,  and  he  had  taken  the  responsi- 
bility as  such^.  And  Olaf  is  not  held  to  have  lowered  himself 
by  accepting  a  money  payment  as  atonement  from  the  slayer 
of  his  son — on  the  contrary  "he  was  considered  to  have  grown 
in  reputation"  from  having  thus  spared  Bolli.  But  after  Olaf's 
death,  the  feud  bursts  out  again,  and  revenge  in  the  end  falls 
heavily  upon  Bolli^,  as  it  does  upon  Finn. 

On  this  question  a  fairly  uniform  standard  of  feeling  will  be 
found  from  the  sixth  century  to  the  thirteenth.  That  it  does 
make  all  the  difference  in  composing  a  feud,  whether  the  slaying 
from  which  the  feud  arises  was  treacherous  or  not,  can  be 
abundantly  proved  from  many  documents,  from  Paul  the 
Deacon,  and  possibly  earlier,  to  the  Icelandic  Sagas.  Such 
composition  of  feuds  may  or  may  not  be  lasting;  it  may  or  may 

1  Heimskringla,  6l.  Tryggv,  K.  41. 

2  lysti  vigi  a  hendr  s&.     Laxdsela  Saga',  cap.  49. 

3  Cap.  55. 


Ethics  of  the  Blood  Feud  279 

not  expose  to  taunt  those  who  make  it ;  but  the  questions  which 
arise  are  precisely  these:  Who  started  the  quarrel?  Was  the 
slaying  fair  or  treacherous?  Upon  the  answer  depends  the 
possibility  of  atonement.  There  may  be  some  insult  and  hurt 
to  a  man's  pride  in  accepting  atonement,  even  in  cases  where 
the  other  side  has  much  to  say  for  itself.  But  if  the  slaying 
has  been  fair,  composition  is  felt  to  be  possible,  though  not 
without  danger  of  the  feud  breaking  out  afresh. 

Prof.  Lawrence  has  suggested  that  perhaps,  in  the  original 
version  of  the  Finnshurg  story,  the  Danes  were  reduced  to 
greater  straits  than  is  represented  to  be  the  case  in  the  extant 
Beowulf  Efisode.  He  thinks  that  it  is  "almost  incomprehen- 
sible" that  Hengest  should  make  terms  with  Finn,  if  he  had 
really  reduced  Finn  and  his  thegns  to  such  a  degree  of  helpless- 
ness as  the  words  of  the  Episode  state.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
matter  depends  much  more  upon  the  treachery  or  the  honesty 
of  Finn.  If  Finn  was  guilty  of  treachery  and  slaughter  of  his 
guests,  then  it  is  "unintelligible"  that  Hengest  should  spare 
him:  but  if  Finn  was  really  a  respectable  character,  then  the 
fact  that  Hengest  was  making  headway  against  him  is  rather 
a  reason  why  Hengest  should  be  moderate,  than  otherwise.  To 
quote  the  Laxdasla  Saga  again:  though  Olaf  the  Peacock  lets 
off  Bolli,  the  bani  of  his  son  Kjartan,  with  a  money  payment, 
he  makes  it  clear  that  he  is  master  of  the  situation,  before  he 
shows  this  mercy.  Paradoxical  as  it  sounds,  it  was  often  easier 
for  a  man  to  show  moderation  in  pursuing  a  blood  feud,  just 
because  he  was  in  a  strong  position.  It  is  so  again  in  the  Saga 
of  Thar  stein  the  White,  But  the  adversary  must  be  one  who 
deserves  to  be  treated  with  moderation. 

Of  course  it  is  quite  possible  that  Prof.  Lawrence  is  right, 
and  that  in  some  earlier  and  more  correct  version  the  Danes 
may  have  been  represented  as  so  outnumbered  by  the  Frisians 
that  they  had  no  choice  except  to  surrender  to  Finn,  and  enter 
his  service,  or  else  to  be  destroyed.  But,  whether  this  be  so 
or  no,  all  parallel  incidents  in  the  old  literature  show  that  their 
choice  between  these  evil  alternatives  will  depend  upon  whether 
Finn,  the  bana  of  their  lord,  slew  that  lord  by  deliberate  and 
premeditated  treachery  whilst  he  was  his  guest,  or  whether  he 


280  The  Fight  at  Finmburg 

was  embroiled  witk  Lim  through  the  fault  of  others,  under 
circumstances  which  were  perfectly  honourable.  If  the  latter 
is  the  case,  then  Hnsef's  men  might  accept  quarter.  Their  posi- 
tion is  comparable  with  that  of  lUugi  at  the  end  of  the  Grettis 
Saga^.  lUugi  is  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  slayers  of  Grettir, 
and  he  charges  them  with  having  overcome  Grettir,  when 
already  on  the  point  of  death  from  a  mortifying  wound,  which 
they  had  inflicted  on  him  by  sorcery  and  enchantment.  The 
slayers  propose  to  lUugi  terms  parallel  to  those  made  to  the 
retainers  of  Hnsef.  "I  will  give  thee  thy  life,"  says  their  leader, 
"if  thou  wilt  swear  to  us  an  oath  not  to  take  vengeance  on  any 
of  those  who  have  been  in  this  business." 

Now,  note  the  answer  of  Illugi:  "That  might  have  seemed 
to  me  a  matter  to  be  discussed,  if  Grettir  had  been  able  to 
defend  himself,  and  if  ye  had  overcome  him  with  valour  and 
courage;  but  now  it  is  not  to  be  looked  for  that  I  will  save  my 
life  by  being  such  a  coward  as  art  thou.  In  a  word,  no  man 
shall  be  more  harmful  to  thee  than  I,  if  I  live,  for  never  can  I 
forget  how  it  was  that  ye  have  vanquished  Grettir.  Much  rather, 
then,  do  I  choose  to  die." 

Now  of  course  it  would  have  been  an  "insult  and  hurt"  to 
the  pride  of  Illugi,  or  of  any  other  decent  eleventh  century  Ice- 
lander, to  have  been  compelled  to  swear  an  oath  not  to  avenge 
his  brother,  even  though  that  brother  had  been  slain  in  the 
most  chivalrous  way  possible ;  and  it  would  doubtless  have  been 
a  hard  matter,  even  in  such  a  case,  for  Illugi  to  have  kept  his 
oath,  had  he  sworn  it.  But  the  treachery  of  the  opponents 
puts  an  oath  out  of  the  question,  just  as  it  must  have  done  in 
the  case  of  the  followers  of  King  Cynewulf^  or  of  Rolf  Kraki, 
and  as  it  must  have  done  in  the  case  of  the  followers  of  Hnsef, 
had  the  slaying  of  Hnsef  been  a  premeditated  act  of  treachery 
on  the  part  of  Finn. 

In  the  Njdls  Saga,  Flosi  has  to  take  up  the  feud  for  the 
slain  Hauskuld.  Flosi  is  a  moderate  and  reasonable  man,  so 
the  first  thing  he  does  is  to  enquire  into  the  circumstances  under 
which  Hauskuld  was  slain.  Flosi  finds  that  the  circumstances, 
and  the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  slayers,  give  him  no  choice 

1  Cap.  85.  ^  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  anno  755. 


Ethics  of  the  Blood  Feud  281 

but  to  prosecute  the  feud.  So  in  the  end  he  burns  NjaFs  hall, 
and  in  it  the  child  of  Kari. 

Now  to  have  burned  a  man's  child  to  death  might  well  seem 
a  deed  impossible  of  atonement.  Yet  in  the  end  Flosi  and  Kari 
are  reconciled  by  a  full  atonement,  the  father  of  the  slain  child 
actually  taking  the  first  step^.  And  all  this  is  possible  because 
Flosi  and  Kari  recognise  that  each  has  been  trying  to  play  his 
part  with  justice  and  fairness,  and  that  each  is  dragged  into 
the  feud  through  the  fault  of  others.  When  Flosi  has  said  of 
his  enemy,  "I  would  that  I  were  altogether  such  a  man  as 
Kari  is,"  we  feel  that  reconciliation  is  in  sight. 

Very  similar  is  the  reconciliation  between  Alboin  and  Thuri- 
sind  in  Longobard  story,  but  with  this  difference,  that  here  it 
is  Alboin  who  seeks  reconciliation  by  going  to  the  hall  of  the 
man  whose  son  he  has  slain,  thus  reversing  the  parts  of  Flosi 
and  Kari;  and  reconciliation  is  possible — ^just  barely  possible. 

Again,  when  Bothvar  comes  to  the  hall  of  Kolf,  and  slays 
one  of  Rolf's  retainers,  the  other  retainers  naturally  claim  full 
vengeance.  Rolf  insists  upon  investigating  the  circumstances. 
When  he  learns  that  it  was  his  own  man  who  gave  the  provo- 
cation, he  comes  to  terms  with  the  slayer. 

Of  course  it  was  a  difficult  matter,  and  one  involving  a 
sacrifice  of  their  pride,  for  the  retainers  of  Hnaef  to  come  to  any 
composition  with  the  bana  of  their  lord;  but  it  is  not  unthinkable, 
if  the  quarrel  was  started  by  Finn's  subordinates  without  his 
consent,  and  if  Finn  himself  fought  fair.  But  had  the  slaying 
been  an  act  of  premeditated  treachery  on  the  part  of  Finn,  the 
atonement  would,  I  submit,  have  been  not  only  difficult  but 
impossible.  If  the  retainers  of  Hnsef  had  had  such  success  as 
our  poem  implies,  then  their  action  under  such  circumstances 
is,  as  Lawrence  says,  "almost  incomprehensible."  If  they  did 
it  under  compulsion,  and  fear  of  death,  then  their  action  would 
be  contrary  to  all  the  ties  of  Germanic  honour,  and  would 
entirely  deprive  them  of  any  sympathy  the  audience  might 
otherwise  have  felt  for  them.  Yet  it  is  quite  obvious  that 
the  retainers  of  Hnsef  are  precisely  the  people  with  whom  the 
audience  is  expected  to  sympathise^. 

1  Njdls  Saga,  cap.  158.  2  Fragment,  11.  40-1. 


282  The  Fight  at  Finnshurg 

In  any  case,  the  feud  was  likely  enough  to  break  out  again, 
as  it  did  in  the  case  of  Alboin  and  Thurisind,  and  equally  in 
that  of  Hrothgar  and  Ingeld. 

Indeed,  the  different  versions  of  the  story  of  the  feud  be- 
tween the  house  of  Hrothgar  and  the  house  of  Froda  are  very 
much  to  the  point. 

Much  the  oldest  version — probably  in  its  main  lines  quite 
historical — is  the  story  as  given  in  Beowulf.  Froda  has  been 
slain  by  the  Danes  in  pitched  battle.  Subsequently  Hrothgar, 
upon  whom,  as  King  of  the  Danes,  the  responsibility  for  meeting 
the  feud  has  devolved,  tries  to  stave  it  off  by  wedding  his 
daughter  Freawaru  to  Ingeld,  son  of  Froda.  The  sympathy  of 
the  poet  is  obviously  with  the  luckless  pair,  Ingeld  and  Freawaru, 
involved  as  they  are  in  ancient  hatreds  which  are  not  of  their 
making.  For  it  is  foreseen  how  some  old  warrior,  who  cannot 
forget  his  loyalty  to  his  former  king,  will  stir  up  the  feud  afresh. 

But  Saxo  Grammaticus  tells  the  story  differently.  Froda 
(Frotho)  is  treacherously  invited  to  a  banquet,  and  then  slain. 
By  this  treachery  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  story  is  changed. 
Ingeld  (Ingellus)  marries  the  daughter  of  his  father's  slayer,  and, 
for  this,  the  old  version  reproduced  by  Saxo  showers  upon  him 
literally  scores  of  phrases  of  scorn  and  contempt.  The  whole 
interest  of  the  story  now  centres  not  in  the  recreant  Ingeld  or 
his  wife  of  treacherous  race,  but  in  the  old  warrior  Starkad, 
whose  spirit  and  eloquence  is  such  that  he  can  bring  Ingeld  to 
a  sense  of  his  "vast  sin^,"  can  burst  the  bonds  of  his  iniquity, 
and  at  last  compel  him  to  take  vengeance  for  his  father. 

In  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Krahi  the  story  of  Froda  is  still  further 
changed.  It  is  a  tale  not  only  of  treachery  but  also  of  slaying 
of  kin.  Consequently  the  idea  of  any  kind  of  atonement,  how- 
ever temporary,  has  become  impossible;  there  is  no  hint  of  it. 

Now  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  Hengest-story  in  Beowulf 
is  parallel  to  that  of  the  Beowulf  version  of  the  Ingeld-story : 
agreement  is  possible,  though  it  does  not  prove  to  be  permanent. 
There  is  room  for  much  hesitation  in  the  minds  of  Hengest  and 
of  Ingeld:  they  remain  the  heroes  of  the  story.  But  if  Finn 
had,  as  is  usually  supposed,  invited  Hnsef  to  his  fort  and  then 

1  p.  213  (ed.  Holder). 


An  Attempt  at  Reconstruction  283 

deliberately  slain  him  by  treachery,  the  whole  atmosphere  would 
have  been  different.  Hengest  could  not  then  be  the  hero,  but 
the  foil:  the  example  of  a  man  whose  spirit  fails  at  the  crisis, 
who  does  the  utterly  disgraceful  thing,  and  enters  the  service 
of  his  lord's  treacherous  foe.  The  hero  of  the  story  would  be 
some  other  character — possibly  the  young  Hunlafing,  who,  loyal 
in  spite  of  the  treachery  and  cowardice  of  his  leader  Hengest, 
yet,  remaining  steadfast  of  soul,  is  able  in  the  end  to  infuse  his 
own  courage  into  the  heart  of  the  recreant  Hengest,  and  to 
inspire  all  the  perjured  Danish  thegns  to  their  final  and  tri- 
umphant revenge  on  Finn. 

But  that  is  not  how  the  story  is  presented. 

Section  X.    An  Attempt  at  Reconstruction 

The  theory,  then,  which  seems  to  fit  in  best  with  what  we 
know  of  the  historic  conditions  at  the  time  when  the  story  arose, 
and  which  fits  in  best  with  such  details  of  the  story  as  we  have, 
is  this: 

Finn,  King  of  Frisia,  has  a  stronghold,  Finnsburg,  outside 
the  hmits  of  Frisia  proper.  There  several  clans  and  chieftains 
are  assembled^:  Hnaef,  Finn's  brother-in-law,  prince  of  the 
Hocings,  the  Eotens,  and  Sigeferth,  prince  of  the  Secgan; 
whether  Sigeferth  has  his  retinue  with  him  or  no  is  not  clear. 

But  the  treachery  of  the  Eotens  causes  trouble:  they  have 
some  old  feud  with  Hnsef  and  his  Danes,  and  attack  them  by 
surprise  in  their  hall.  There  is  no  proof  that  Finn  has  any 
share  in  this  treason.  It  is  therefore  quite  natural  that  in  the 
Efisode — although  the  treachery  of  the  Eotens  is  censured — 
Finn  is  never  blamed;  and  that  in  the  Fragment,  Finn  has  ap-  • 
parently  no  share  in  the  attack  on  the  hall,  at  any  rate  during 
those  first  five  days  to  which  the  account  in  the  Fragment  is 
limited. 

The  attack  is  led  by  Garulf  (Fragment,  1.  20),  presumably 
the  prince  of  the  Eotens :  and  some  friend  or  kinsman  is  urging 
Garulf  not  to  hazard  so  precious  a  life  in  the  first  attack.    And 

^  Finn  may  perhaps  be  holding  a  meeting  of  chieftains.  For  similar 
meetings  of  chieftains,  compare  S^rlapdttr,  cap  4;  Laxdada  Saga,  cap.  12; 
SkcUdskaparmdl,  cap.  47  (50). 


284     ,  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

here,  too,  the  situation  now  becomes  clearer:  if  Garulf  is  the 
chief  of  the  attacking  people,  we  can  understand  one  of  his 
kinsmen  or  friends  expostulating  thus:  but  if  he  is  merely  one 
of  a  number  of  subordinates  despatched  by  Finn  to  attack  the 
hall,  the  position  would  not  be  so  easily  understood. 

Garulf,  however,  does  not  heed  the  warning,  and  falls,  "first 
of  all  the  dwellers  in  that  land."  The  Fragment  breaks  ofi,  but 
the  fight  goes  on :  we  can  imagine  that  matters  must  have  pro- 
ceeded much  as  in  the  great  attack  upon  the  hall  in  the  Nibel- 
ungen  lied?-.  One  man  after  another  would  be  drawn  in,  by  the 
duty  of  revenge,  and  Finn's  own  men  would  wake  to  find  a 
battle  in  progress.  "The  sudden  bale  (fser)  came  upon  them." 
Finn's  son  joins  in  the  attack,  perhaps  in  order  to  avenge  some 
young  comrade  in  arms;  and  is  slain,  possibly  by  Hnsef.  Then 
Finn  has  to  intervene,  and  Hnaef  in  turn  is  slain,  possibly, 
though  not  certainly,  by  Finn  himself.  But  Hengest,  the  thegn 
of  Hnasf ,  puts  up  so  stout  a  defence,  that  Finn  is  unable  to  take 
a  full  vengeance  upon  all  the  Danes.  He  offers  them  terms. 
What  are  Hengest  and  the  thegns  to  do? 

Finn  has  slain  their  lord.  But  they  are  Finn's  guests,  and 
they  have  slain  Finn's  son  in  his  own  house.  Finn  himself  is, 
I  take  it,  blameless.  It  is  here  that  the  tragic  tension  comes  in. 
We  can  understand  how,  even  if  Hengest  had  Finn  in  his  power, 
he  might  well  have  stayed  his  hand.  So  peace  is  made,  and 
all  is  to  be  forgotten :  solemn  oaths  are  sworn.  And  Finn  keeps 
his  promise  honestly.  He  resumes  his  position  of  host,  making 
no  distinction  between  Eotens,  Frisians  and  Danes,  who  are  all, 
for  the  time  at  least,  his  followers. 

I  think  we  have  here  a  rational  explanation  of  the  action  of 
Hengest  and  the  other  thegns  of  Hnaef,  in  following  the  slayer 
of  their  lord. 

The  situation  resembles  that  which  takes  place  when  Alboin 
seeks  hospitaUty  in  the  hall  of  the  man  whose  son  he  has  slain, 
or  when  Ingeld  is  reconciled  to  Hrothgar.     Very  similar,  too, 

^  There  is  assuredly  a  considerable  likeness  between  the  Finn  story  and  the 
Nibelungen  story :  this  has  been  noted  often  enough.  It  is  more  open  to  dispute 
whether  the  likeness  is  so  great  as  to  justify  us  in  believing  that  the  Nibelungen 
story  is  copied  from  the  Finn  story,  and  may  therefore  safely  be  used  as  an 
indication  how  gaps  in  our  existing  versions  of  that  story  may  be  filled.  See 
Boer  in  Z.f.d.A.  xlvii,  125  etc. 


An  Attempt  at  Reconstruction  285 

is  the  temporary  reconciliation  often  brought  about  in  an  Ice- 
landic feud  by  the  feeUng  that  the  other  side  has  something  to 
say  for  itself,  and  that  both  have  suffered  grievously.  The 
death  of  Finn's  son  is  a  set  off  against  the  death  of  Hnsef^. 
But,  as  in  the  case  of  Alboin  and  of  Ingeld,  or  of  many  an 
Icelandic  Saga,  the  passion  for  revenge  is  too  deep  to  be  laid 
to  rest  permanently.  This  is  what  makes  the  figure  of  Hengest 
tragic,  hke  the  figure  of  Ingeld:  both  have  plighted  their  word, 
but  neither  can  keep  it. 

The  assembly  breaks  up.  Finn  and  his  men  go  back  to 
Friesland,  and  Hengest  accompanies  them :  of  the  other  Danish 
survivors  nothing  is  said  for  the  moment:  whatever  longings 
they  may  have  had  for  revenge,  the  poet  concentrates  all  for 
the  moment  in  the  figure  of  Hengest. 

Hengest  spends  the  winter  with  Finn,  but  he  cannot  quiet 
his  conscience:  and  in  the  end,  he  accepts  the  gift  of  a  sword 
from  a  young  Danish  prince  Hunlafing,  who  is  planning  revenge. 
The  uncles  of  Hunlafing,  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  [Ordlaf],  had  been 
in  the  hall  when  it  was  attacked,  and  had  survived.  It  is 
possible  that  the  young  prince's  father,  Hunlaf,  was  slain  then, 
and  that  his  son  is  therefore  recognised  as  having  the  nominal 
leadership  in  the  operations  of  vengeance^.  Hengest,  by  ac- 
cepting  the  sword,  promises  his  services  in  the  work  of  revenge, 
and  makes  a  great  slaughter  of  the  treacherous  Eotens.  Per- 
haps he  so  far  respects  his  oath  that  he  leaves  the  simultaneous 
attack  upon  Finn  to  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  [Ordlaf].  Here  we  should 
have  an  explanation  of  swylce:  "in  like  wise^";  and  also  an 
explanation  of  the  omission  of  Hengest' s  name  from  the  final 
act,  the  slaying  of  Finn  himself.     Hengest  made  the  Eotens 

1  The  fact  that  both  sides  have  suffered  about  equally  facilitates  a  settle- 
ment in  the  Teutonic  feud,  just  as  it  does  among  the  Afridis  or  the  Albanians 
at  the  present  day. 

2  The  situation  would  then  be  parallel  to  that  in  Laxdaela  Saga,  cap.  60-5, 
where  the  boy  Thorleik,  aged  fifteen,  is  nominally  in  command  of  the  expedition 
which  avenges  his  father  BoUi,  but  is  only  able  to  accomplish  his  revenge  by 
enlisting  the  great  warrior  Thorgils,  who  is  the  real  leader  of  the  raid. 

*  Bugge  {P.B.B.  XII,  36)  interpreted  this  swylce  as  meaning  that  sword-bale 
came  upon  Finn  in  like  manner  as  it  had  previously  come  upon  Hnsef.  But 
this  is  to  make  sioylce  in  1.  1146  refer  back  to  the  death  of  Hnaef  mentioned 
(72  lines  previously)  in  1.  1074.  Moller  {Volksepos,  67)  tries  to  explain  sioylce 
by  supposing  the  passage  it  introduces  to  be  a  fragment  detached  from  its 
context. 


286  The  Fight  at  Finmburg 

feel  the  sharpness  of  his  sword:  and  in  like  wise  Guthlaf  and 
Oslaf  conducted  their  part  of  the  campaign.  Of  course  this  is 
only  a  guess:  but  it  is  very  much  in  the  manner  of  the  Heroic 
Age  to  get  out  of  a  difficulty  by  respecting  the  letter  of  an  oath 
whilst  breaking  its  spirit — just  as  Hogni  and  Gunnar  arrange 
that  the  actual  slaying  of  Sigurd  shall  be  done  by  Guttorm,  who 
had  not  personally  sworn  the  oath,  as  they  had. 

Section  XI.    Gefwulf,  Prince  of  the  Jutes 

Conclusive  external  evidence  in  favour  of  the  view  just  put 
forward  we  can  hardly  hope  for :  for  this  reason,  amongst  others, 
that  the  names  of  the  actors  in  the  Finn  tragedy  are  corrupted 
and  obscured  in  the  different  versions.  Hneef  and  Hengest  are 
too  well  known  to  be  altered:  but  most  of  the  other  names  men- 
tioned in  the  Fragment  do  not  agree  with  the  forms  given  in 
other  documents.  Sigeferth  is  the  Sseferth  of  Widsith:  the 
Ordlaf  (correct)  of  the  Fragment  is  the  Oslaf  of  the  Episode. 
The  first  Guthlaf  is  confirmed  by  the  Guthlaf  of  the  Episode : 
the  other  names,  the  second  Guthlaf,  Eaha  and  Guthere,  we 
cannot  control  from  other  sources:  but  they  have  all,  on  various 
grounds,  been  suspected. 

Tribal  names  are  equally  varied.     Sigeferth's  people,  the 

Secgan,  are  called  Sycgan  in  Widsith.    And  he  would  be  a  bold 

man  who  would  deny  (what  almost  all  students  of  the  subject 

hold)  that  Eotena,  Eotenum  in  the  Episode  is  yet  another  scribal 

error:  the  copyist  had  before  him  the  Anglian  form,  eotna, 

eotnum,  and  miswrote  eotena,  eotenum,  when  he  should  have 

written  the  West- Saxon  equivalent  of  the  tribal  name,  Ytena, 

Ytum — the  name  we  get  in  Widsith: 

Ytum  [weold]  Gefwulf 
Fin  Folcwalding  Fresna  cynne. 

But  in  Widsith  names  of  heroes  and  tribes  are  grouped  together 

(often,  but  not  invariably)  according  as  they  are  related  in  story. 

Consequently  Gefwulf  is  probably  (not  certainly)  a  hero  of 

the  Finn  story.     What  part  does  he  play?     If,  as  I  have  been 

trying  to  show,  the  Jutes  are  the  aggressors,  then,  as  their 

chief,  Gefwulf  would  probably  be  the  leader  of  the  attack  upon 

the  haU. 


Ccniclusion  287 

This  part,  in  the  Fragment,  is  played  by  Garulf. 

Now  Garulf  is  not  Gefwulf,  and  I  am  not  going  to  pretend 
that  it  is.  But  Garulf  is  very  near  Gefwulf:  and  (what  is  im- 
portant) more  so  in  Old  English  script  thg-n  in  modern  script^. 
It  stands  to  Gefwulf  in  exactly  the  same  relation  as  Heregdr 
to  Heorogdr  or  SigefercS  to  S^fer^  or  Ordldf  to  Osldf:  that  is  to 
8ay  the  initial  letter  and  the  second  element  are  identical. 
And  no  serious  student,  I  think,  doubts  that  Heregdr  and 
Heorogdr,  or  Sigeferd"  and  Sseferc^,  or  Ordldf  and  Osldf  are  merely 
corruptions  of  one  name.  And  if  it  be  admitted  to  be  probable 
that  Gefwulf  is  miswritten  for  Gdrulf,  then  the  theory  that 
Garulf  was  prince  of  the  Jutes,  and  the  original  assailant  of 
Hnsef ,  in  addition  to  being  the  only  theory  which  satisfactorily 
explains  the  internal  evidence  of  the  Fragment  and  the  Episode, 
has  also  powerful  external  support. 

Section  XII.    Conclusion 

But,  apart  from  any  such  confirmation,  I  think  that  the 
theory  offers  an  explanation  of  the  known  facts  of  the  case,  and 
that  it  is  the  only  theory  yet  put  forward  which  does.  It 
enables  us  to  solve  many  minor  difficulties  that  hardly  otherwise 
admit  of  solution.  But,  above  all,  it  gives  a  tragic  interest  to 
the  story  by  making  the  actions  of  the  two  main  characters, 
Finn  and  Hengest,  intelligible  and  human :  they  are  both  great 
chiefs,  placed  by  circumstances  in  a  cruel  position.  Finn  is  no 
longer  a  treacherous  host,  plotting  the  murder  of  his  guests, 
without  even  having  the  courage  personally  to  superintend  the 
dirty  work:  and  Hengest  is  not  guilty  of  the  shameful  act  of 
entering  the  service  of  a  king  who  had  slain  his  lord  by  treachery 
when  a  guest.  The  tale  of  Finnsburg  becomes  one  of  tragic 
misfortune  besetting  great  heroes — a  tale  of  the  same  type  as 
the  stories  of  Thurisind  or  Ingeld,  of  Sigurd  or  Theodric. 

1  f,  r,  s,  b,  w,  p  (FnrJrP)'  ^^  letters  involving  a  long  down  stroke,  are 
constantly  confused.  For  examples,  see  above,  p.  245,  and  cf.  e.g.  Beowulf y 
1.  2882  ifergendra  for  wergendra);  Crist,  12  (craestga  for  crasftga);  Phoenix,  15 
{fnmftiox  fnfest);  Riddles  in  (rv),  18  {f>yran  for  pywan)',  xl  (xli),  63  {pyrre  for 
J^yrse);  xlh  (xlui),  4  {speop  for  speow),  11  {wses  for  \>aes);  Lvn  (Lvni),  3  {rope 
for  rdfe  or  rowe),  etc. 


288  The  Fight  at  Finnsburg 

FRISIA  IN  THE  HEROIC  AGE 

It  is  now  generally  recognised  that  loose  confederacies  of  tribes  were, 
at  the  period  with  which  we  are  dealing,  very  common.  Lawrence  says 
this  expressly:  "The  actors  in  this  drama  are  members  of  two  North  Sea 
tribes,  or  rather  groups  of  tribes^''-,  and  again^:  "At  the  time  when  the 
present  poem  was  put  into  shapC;  we  surely  have  to  assume  for  the  Danes 
and  Frisians,  not  compact  and  unified  pohtical  units,  but  groups  of  tribes 
held  somewhat  loosely  together,  and  sometimes  known  by  tribal  names." 

This  seems  to  me  a  quite  accurate  view  of  the  political  situation  in  the 
later  Heroic  Age.  The  independent  tribes,  as  they  existed  at  the  time  of 
Tacitus,  tended  to  coalesce,  and  from  such  coalition  the  nations  of  modern 
Europe  are  gradually  evolved.  In  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  a  great 
king  of  Northumbria  or  Frisia  is  likely  to  be  king,  not  of  one  only,  but  of  many 
allied  tribes.  I  cannot  therefore  quite  understand  why  some  scholars  reject 
so  immediately  the  idea  that  the  Eotens  are  not  necessarily  Frisians,  but 
^  rather  a  tribe  in  aUiance  with  the  Frisians.  For  if,  as  they  admit,  we  are 
dealing  not  with  two  compact  units,  but  with  two  groups  of  tribes,  why 
must  we  assume,  as  earher  scholars  have  done,  that  Eotenas  must  be 
synonymous  either  with  Frisians  or  Danes?  That  assumption  is  based 
upon  the  belief  that  we  are  dealing  with  two  compact  imits.  It  has  no 
other  foundation.  I  can  quite  understand  Kemble  and  Ettmiiller  jumping 
at  the  conclusion  that  the  Eotens  must  be  identical  with  the  one  side  or 
the  other.  But  once  we  have  recognised  that  confederacies  of  tribes, 
rather  than  individual  tribes,  are  to  be  expected  in  the  period  with  which 
we  are  dealing,  then  surely  no  such  assumption  should  be  made. 

I  think  we  shall  be  helped  if  we  try  to  get  some  clear  idea  of  the  nation- 
alities concerned  in  the  struggle.  For  to  judge  by  the  analogy  of  other 
*/  contemporary  Germanic  stories,  there  probably  is  some  historic  basis  for 
the  Finnsburg  story:  and  even  if  the  fight  is  purely  fictitious,  and  if  Finn 
Folcwalding  never  existed,  still  the  Old  English  poets  would  represent  the 
fictitious  Frisian  king  in  the  light  of  what  they  knew  of  contemporary  kings. 

Now  the  Frisians  were  no  insignificant  tribe.  They  were  a  power,  con- 
trolling the  coasts  of  what  was  then  called  the  "Frisian  Sea^."  Commerce 
was  in  Frisian  hands.  Archaeological  evidence  points  to  a  lively  trade 
between  the  Frisian  districts  and  the  coast  of  Norway*.  From  about  the 
sixth  century,  when  "Dorostates  of  the  Frisians"  is  mentioned  by  the 
Geographer  of  Ravenna  (or  the  source  from  which  he  drew)  in  a  manner 
which  shows  it  to  have  been  known  even  in  Italy  as  a  place  of  peculiar 

1  p.  392.  2  p,  431. 

3  Nennius  Interpretatus,  ed.  Mommsen  {Chronica  Minora,  iii,  179,  in  Mon. 
Oerm.  Hist.) 

*  "  De  norske  oldsager  synes  at  vidne  cm,  at  temmelig  livlige  handelsfor- 
bindelser  i  den  aeldre  jemalder  har  fundet  sted  mellem  Norge  og  de  sydlige 
Nordsje^kyster."  Undset,  Fra  Norges  seldre  Jemalder  in  the  Aarb0ger  for  Nordisk 
Oldkyndighed  og  Historie,  1880,  89-184,  esp.  p.  173.  See  also  Chadwick,  Origin, 
93.     I  am  indebted  to  Chadwick's  note  for  this  reference  to  Undset. 


Frisia  in  the  Heroic  Age  289 

importance^,  to  the  ninth  century,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  repeated  ^ 
attacks  of  the  Vikings,  the  Frisian  port  of  Dorestad^  was  one  of  the  greatest 
trade  centres  of  Northern  Europe^.  By  the  year  700  the  Frisian  power 
had  suffered  severely  from  the  constant  blows  dealt  to  it  by  the  Frankish  -^ 
Mayors  of  the  Palace.  Yet  evidence  seems  to  show  that  even  at  that  date 
the  Frisian  king  ruled  all  the  coast  which  intervened  between  the  borders 
of  the  Franks  on  the  one  side  and  of  the  Danes  on  the  other*.  When  a 
zealous  missionary  demonstrated  the  powerlessness  of  the  heathen  gods  by 
baptizing  three  converts  in  the  sacred  spring  of  Fosetisland,  he  was  carried 
before  the  King  of  Frisia  for  judgement^. 

At  a  later  date  the  "Danes"  became  the  controlling  power  in  the  North 
Sea;  but  in  the  centuries  before  the  Viking  raids  began,  the  Frisians  appear  ' 
to  have  had  it  all  their  own  way. 

Finn,  son  of  Folcwald,  found  his  way  into  some  English  genealogies* 
just  as  the  Roman  Emperor  did  into  others.  This  also  seems  to  point  to 
the  Frisian  power  having  made  an  impression  on  the  nations  around. 

We  should  expect  all  this  to  be  reflected  in  the  story  of  the  great 
Frisian  king.  How  then  would  a  seventh  or  eighth  century  Englishman  re- 
gard Finn  and  his  father  Folcwalda  ?  Probably  as  paramount  chiefs,  holding 
authority  over  the  tribes  of  the  South  and  East  coast  of  the  North  Sea, 
similar  to  that  which,  for  example,  a  Northumbrian  king  held  over  the 
tribes  settled  along  the  British  coast.  Indeed,  the  whole  story  of  the 
Northumbrian  kings,  as  given  in  Bede,  deserves  comparison:  the  relation 
with  the  subordinate  tribes,  the  alliances,  the  feuds,  the  attempted  ^- 
sassiQations,  the  loyalty  of  the  thegns — this  is  the  atmosphere  amid  which 
the  Finn  story  grew  up  in  England,  and  if  we  want  to  understand  the  story 
we  must  begin  by  getting  this  point  of  view. 

But,  if  this  be  a  correct  estimate  of  tribal  conditions  at  the  time  the 
Finnshurg  story  took  form,  we  no  longer  need  far-fetched  explanations  to 
account  for  Finnsburg  not  being  in  Friesland.  It  is  natural  that  it  should 
not  be,  just  as  natural  as  that  the  contemporary  Eadwinesburg  should  be 
outside  the  ancient  limits  of  Deira.  Nor  do  we  need  any  far-fetched 
explanations  why  the  Frisians  should  be  called  Eotenas.  That  the  King 
of  Frisia  should  have  had  Jutes  under  his  rule  is  likely  enough.  And  this 
is  all  that  the  words  of  the  Episode  demand. 

1  Ravennatis  anonymi  cosmographia,  ed.  Pinder  et  Parthey,  Berolini,  1860, 
pp.  27,  28  (§  I,  11). 

*  The  modem  Wijk  bij  Duurstede,  not  far  from  Utrecht,  on  the  Lower 
Rhine. 

'  An  account  of  the  numerous  coins  found  among  the  ruins  of  the  old  town 
will  be  found  in  the  Forschungen  zur  deutschen  Gescfdchte,  iv  (1864),  pp.  301-303. 
They  testify  to  its  commercial  importance. 

*  So  Adam  of  Bremen,  following  Alcuin.  Concerning  "Heiligland"  Adam 
says :  "  Hanc  in  vita  Sancti  WiUebrordi  Fosetisland  appellari  discimus,  quae  sita 
est  in  eonfinio  Danorum  et  Fresonum."  Adam  of  Bremen  in  Pertz,  Scriptores, 
VII,  1846,  p.  369. 

5  Alcuin' 8  Life  of  Willibrard  in  Migne  (1851) — Alcuini  Opera,  vol.  ii,  699-702. 
«  See  above,  pp.  199-200. 

O.  B.  19 


PART  IV 

APPENDIX 
A.     A  POSTSCRIPT  ON  MYTHOLOGY  IN  BEOWULF 
(1)     Beowulf  the  Scylding  and  Beowulf  son  of  Ecgtheow 

It  is  now  ten  years  since  Prof.  Lawrence  attacked  the  mytho- 
logical theories  which,  from  the  time  when  they  were  first 
enunciated  by   Kemble  and   elaborated  by  Miillenhoff,   had    , 
wielded  an  authority  over  Beowulf  scholars  which  was  only    f 
very  rarely  disputed^. 

Whilst  in  the  main  I  agree  with  Prof.  Lawrence,  I  believe 
that  there  is  an  element  of  truth  in  the  theories  of  Kemble. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  both  astonishing  and  humiliating  if  we 
found  that  a  view,  accepted  for  three-quarters  of  a  century  by 
almost  every  student,  had  no  foundation.  What  is  really  re- 
markable is,  not  that  Kemble  should  have  carried  his  mytho- 
logical theory  too  far,  but  that,  with  the  limited  information 
at  his  disposal,  he  at  once  saw  certain  aspects  of  the  truth  so 
clearly. 

The  mythological  theories  involve  three  propositions: 
(a)  That  some,  or  all,  of  the  supernatural  stories  told  of 
Beowulf  the  Geat,  son  of  Ecgtheow  (especially  the  Grendel- 
struggle  and  the  dragon-struggle),  were  originally  told  of  Beowulf 
the  Dane,  son  of  Scyld,  who  can  be  identified  with  the  Beow  or 
Beaw^  of  the  genealogies. 

*  It  had  been  disputed  by  Skeat,  Earle,  Boer,  and  others,  but  never  with 
such  strong  reasons. 

2  I  use  below  the  form  "Beow,"  which  I  believe  to  be  the  correct  one. 
"Beaw"  is  the  form  in  the  Angh-Saxon  Chronicle.  But  as  the  name  of  Sceldwa, 
Beaw's  father,  is  there  given  in  a  form  which  is  not  West-Saxon  {aceld,  not 
Kcield  or  scyld),  it  may  well  be  that  "Beaw"  is  also  the  Anglian  dialect  form,  if 
it  be  not  indeed  a  mere  error:  and  this  is  confirmed  by  Beo  (Ethelwerd),  Beoivius 
(William  of  Malmesbury),  Boerinua  (for  Beowinus:  Chronicle  Roll),  perhaps  too 
by  Beoioa  (Charter  of  931)  and  Beowi  (MS  Cott  Tib.  B.  IV).  For  the  significance 
of  this  last,  see  pp.  303-4,  below,  and  Bjorkman  in  Engl.  Stud.  Ln,  171,  Anglia, 
Beiblatty  xxx,  23. 

19—2 


292  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

(6)  That  this  Beow  was  an  ancient  "  god  of  agriculture  and 
fertility." 

(c)  That  therefore  we  can  allegorize  Grendel  and  the  dragon 
into  culture-myths  connected  with  the  "god  Beow." 

Now  (c)  would  not  necessarily  follow,  even  granting  [a) 
and  (h) ;  for  though  a  hero  of  story  be  an  ancient  god,  many  of 
his  most  popular  adventures  may  be  later  accretion.  However, 
these  two  propositions  (a)  and  (6)  would,  together,  establish  a 
very  strong  probability  that  the  Grendel- story  and  the  dragon - 
story  were  ancient  culture-myths,  and  would  entitle  to  a 
sympathetic  hearing  those  who  had  such  an  interpretation  of 
them  to  offer. 

That  Beow  is  an  ancient  "god  of  agriculture  and  fertility," 
I  believe  to  be  substantially  true.  We  shall  see  that  a  great 
deal  of  evidence,  unknown  to  Kemble  and  Miillenhoff,  is  now 
forthcoming  to  show  that  there  was  an  ancient  belief  in  a  corn- 
spirit  Beow :  and  this  Beow,  whom  we  find  in  the  genealogies  as 
son  of  Scyld  or  Sceldwa  and  descendant  of  Sceaf,  is  pretty 
obviously  identical  with  Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld  Scefing,  in  the 
Prologue  of  Beowulf. 

So  far  as  the  Prologue  is  concerned,  there  is,  then,  almost 
V  certainly  a  remote  mythological  background.  But  before  we 
can  claim  that  this  background  extends  to  the  supernatural 
adventures  attributed  to  Beowulf,  son  of  Ecgtheow,  we  must 
prove  our  proposition  {a) :  that  these  adventures  were  once  told, 
not  of  Beowulf,  son  of  Ecgtheow,  but  of  Beowulf  or  Beow,  son 
of  Scyld. 

When  it  was  first  suggested,  at  the  very  beginning  of 
Beowulf -ciiticism,  that  Beowulf  was  identical  with  the  Beow 
of  the  genealogies,  it  had  not  been  realized  that  there  were  in 
the  poem  two  persons  named  Beowulf:  and  thus  an  anonymous 
scholar  in  the  Monthly  Review  of  1816^,  not  knowing  that 
Beowulf  the  slayer  of  Grendel  is  (at  any  rate  in  the  poem  as  it 
stands)  distinct  from  Beowulf,  son  of  Scyld,  connected  both  with 
Beow,  son  of  Scyld,  so  initiating  a  theory  which,  for  almost  a 
century,  was  accepted  as  ascertained  fact. 

*  Vol.  Lxxxi,  p.  517. 


Kemhle's  mythological  theory  293 

Kemble's  identification  was  probably  made  independently 
of  the  work  of  this  early  scholar.  Unlike  him,  Kemble,  of  course, 
realized  that  in  our  poem  Beowulf  the  Dane,  son  of  Scyld,  is 
a  person  distinct  from,  is  in  fact  not  related  to,  Beowulf  son  of 
Ecgtheow.  But  he  deliberately  identified  the  two :  he  thought 
that  two  distinct  traditions  concerning  the  same  hero  had  been 
amalgamated:  in  one  of  these  traditions  Beowulf  may  have  been 
represented  as  son  of  Scyld,  in  the  other  as  son  of  Ecgtheow, 
precisely  as  the  hero  Gunnar  or  Gunter  is  in  one  tradition  son 
of  Gifica  (Giuki),  in  another  son  of  Dankrat. 

Of  course  such  duplication  as  Kemble  assumed  is  conceivable. 
Kemble  might  have  instanced  the  way  in  which  one  and  the 
same  hero  reappears  in  the  pages  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  with 
somewhat  different  parentage  or  surroundings,  as  if  he  were  a 
quite  different  person.  The  Lives  of  the  Two  Off  as  present 
another  parallel:  the  adventures  of  the  elder  Offa  have  been 
transferred  to  the  younger,  so  that,  along  with  much  that  is 
historical  or  semi-historical,  we  have  much  in  the  Life  of  Offa  II 
that  is  simply  borrowed  from  the  story  of  Offa  I.  In  the  same 
way  it  is  conceivable  that  reminiscences  of  the  mythical  ad- 
ventures of  the  elder  Beowulf  (Beow)  might  have  been  mingled 
with  the  history  of  the  acts  of  the  younger  Beowulf,  king  of 
the  Geatas.  A  guarantee  of  the  intrinsic  reasonableness  of  this 
theory  lies  in  the  fact  that  recently  it  has  been  put  forward 
again  by  Dr  Henry  Bradley.  But  it  is  not  enough  that  a 
theory  should  be  conceivable,  and  be  supported  by  great 
names.  I  cannot  see  that  there  is  any  positive  evidence  for  it 
at  all. 

The  arguments  produced  by  Kemble  are  not  such  as  to 
carry  conviction  at  the  present  day.  The  fact  that  Beowulf 
the  Geat,  son  of  Ecgtheow,  "is  represented  throughout  as  a 
protecting  and  redeeming  being"  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  we  must  look  for  some  god  or  demigod  of  the  old  mythology 
— Frey  or  Sceaf  or  Beow — with  whom  we  can  identify  him. 
This  characteristic  is  strongly  present  in  many  Old  English 
monarchs  and  magnates  of  historic.  Christian,  times:  Oswald 
or  Alfred  or  Byrhtnoth.  Indeed,  it  might  with  much  plausi- 
bility be  argued  that  we  are  to  see  in  this  "  protecting  "  character 


294  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

of  the  hero  evidence  of  Christian  rather  than  of  heathen  in- 
fluence^. 

Nor  can  we  argue  anything  from  the  absence  of  any  historic 
record  of  a  king  Beowulf  of  the  Geatas;  our  records  are  too 
scanty  to  admit  of  argument  from  silence :  and  were  such  argu- 
ment valid,  it  would  only  prove  Beowulf  fictitious,  not  mytho- 
logical— no  more  necessarily  an  ancient  god  than  Tom  Jones 
or  Mr  Pickwick. 

There  remains  the  argument  of  Dr  Bradley.  He  points  out 
that 

"The  poem  is  divided  into  numbered  sections,  the  length  of  which 
was  probably  determined  by  the  size  of  the  pieces  of  parchment  of 
which  an  earlier  exemplar  consisted.  Now  the  first  fifty-two  lines, 
which  are  concerned  with  Scyld  and  his  son  Beowulf,  stand  outside 
this  numbering.  It  may  reasonably  be  inferred  that  there  once  existed 
a  written  text  of  the  poem  that  did  not  include  these  lines.  Their 
substance,  however,  is  clearly  ancient.  Many  difficulties  will  be 
obviated  if  we  may  suppose  that  this  passage  is  the  beginning  of  a 
different  poem,  the  hero  of  which  was  not  BeowuK  the  son  of  Ecgtheow, 
but  his  Danish  namesake^." 

In  this  Bradley  sees  support  for  the  view  that  "there  were 
circulated  in  England  two  rival  poetic  versions  of  the  story  of 
the  encounters  with  supernatural  beings:  the  one  referring  them 
to  Beowulf  the  Dane"  [of  this  the  Prologue  to  our  extant 
poem  would  be  the  only  surviving  portion,  whilst]  "the  other 
(represented  by  the  existing  poem)  attached  them  to  the  legend 
of  the  son  of  Ecgtheow." 

But  surely  many  objections  have  to  be  met.  Firstly,  as 
Dr  Bradley  admits,  the  mention  of  Beowulf  the  Dane  is  not 
confined  to  the  Prologue)  this  earlier  Beowulf  "is  mentioned 
at  the  beginning  of  the  first  numbered  section"  and  conse- 
quently Dr  Bradley  has  to  suppose  that  "the  opening  lines  of 
this  section  have  undergone  alteration  in  order  to  bring  them 
into  connection  with  the  prefixed  matter."  And  why  should  we 
assume  that  the  "passus"  of  Beowulf  correspond  to  pieces  of 

1  It  has  indeed  been  so  argued  by  Brandl:  " Beowulf... ist  nur  der  Erloser 
seines  Volkes...und  dankt  es  schliesshch  dem  Himmel,  in  einer  an  den  Heiland 
gemahnenden  Weise,  dass  er  die  Seinen  um  den  Preis  des  eigenen  Lebens  mit 
Schatzen  begliicken  konnte."   Pauls  Grdr.  (2),  ii,  1.  1002. 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  11  th  edit.,  iii,  760-1. 


Dr  Bradley's  argument  295 

parcliment  of  various  sizes  of  which  an  earlier  exemplar  con- 
sisted?    These  "passus"  vary  in  length  from  43  lines  to  142, 
a  disproportion  by  no  means  extraordinary  for  the  sections  of 
one  and  the  same  poem,  but  very  awkward  for  the  pages  of  one 
and  the  same  book,  however  roughly  constructed.     One  of  the 
"passus"  is  just  twice  the  average  length,  and  30  lines  longer 
than  the  one  which  comes  next  to  it  in  size.     Ought  we  to 
assume  that  an  artificer  would  have  made  his  book  clumsy  by 
putting  in  this  one  disproportionate  page,  when,  by  cutting  it 
in  two,  he  could  have  got  two  pages  of  just  about  the  size  he 
wanted?     Besides,  the  different  "passus"  do  not  seem  to  me 
to  show  signs  of  having  been  caused  by  such  mechanical  reasons 
as  the  dimensions  of  the  parchment  upon  which  they  were 
written.     On  the  contrary,  the  42  places  where  sections  begin 
and  end  almost  all  come  where  a  reader  might  reasonably  be 
expected  to  pause:  16  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  speech: 
18  others  at  a  point  where  the  narrative  is  resumed  after  some 
digression  or  general  remark.     Only  eight  remain,  and  even 
with  these,  there  is  generally  some  pause  in  the  narrative  at  the 
point  indicated.    In  only  two  instances  does  a  "passus"  end  at 
a  flagrantly  inappropriate  spot ;  in  one  of  these  there  is  strong 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  scribe  may  have  caused  the  trouble 
by  beginning  with  a  capital  where  he  had  no  business  to  have 
done  so^.     Generally,  there  seems  to  be  some  principle  governing 
the  division  of  chapter  from  chapter,  even  though  this  be  not 
made  as  a  modern  would  have  made  it.     But,  if  so,  is  there 
anything  extraordinary  in  the  first  chapter,  which  deals  with 
events  three  generations  earlier  than  those  of  the  body  of  the 
poem,  being  allowed  to  stand  outside  the  numbering,  as  a  kind 
of  prologue? 

The  idea  of  a  preface  or  prologue  was  quite  familiar  in  Old 
English  times.  The  oldest  mss  ^  of  Bede's  History  have,  at  the 
end  of  the  preface.  Explicit  praefatio  incipiunt  capitula.  So  we 
have  in  one  of  the  two  oldest  mss^  of  the  Pastoral  Care  "©is  is 
seo  foresprsec."  On  the  other  hand,  the  prologue  or  preface 
might  be  left  without  any  heading  or  colophon,  and  the  next 

*  1.  2039,  where  a  capital  0  occurs,  but  without  a  section  number. 
2  Moore,  Namur,  Cotton.  »  Cotton  Tiberius  B.  XL 


296  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

chapter  begin  as  No.  I.  This  is  the  case  in  the  other  ms  of  the 
Pastoral  Care^.  Is  there,  then,  such  difficulty  in  the  dissertation 
on  the  glory  of  the  ancient  Danish  kings  being  treated  as  what, 
in  fact,  it  is:  a  prologue  or  preface;  and  being,  as  such,  simply 
left  outside  the  numbering? 

Still  less  can  we  argue  for  the  identification  of  our  hero,  the 
son  of  Ecgtheow,  with  Frotho,  and  through  him  with  Beow, 
from  the  supposed  resemblances  between  the  dragon  fights 
of  Beowulf  and  Frotho.  Such  resemblances  have  been  divined 
by  Sievers,  but  we  have  seen  that  it  is  the  dissimilarity,  not  the 
resemblance,  of  the  two  dragon  fights  which  is  really  note- 
worthy^. 

To  prove  that  Beow  was  the  original  antagonist  of  Grendel 
there  remains,  then,  only  the  mention  in  the  charter  of  a 
Grendles  mere  near  a  Beowan  hamm^.  Now  this  was  not  known 
to  Kemble  at  the  time  when  he  formed  his  theory  that  the  original 
slayer  of  Grendel  was  not  Beowulf,  but  Beow.  And  if  the  argu- 
ments upon  which  Kemble  based  his  theory  had  been  at  all 
substantial,  this  charter  would  have  afforded  really  valuable 
support.  But  the  fact  that  two  names  occur  near  each  other 
in  a  charter  cannot  confirm  any  theory,  unless  that  theory  has 
already  a  real  basis  of  its  own. 

(2)     Beow 

Therefore,  until  some  further  evidence  be  discovered,  we 
must  regard  the  belief  that  the  Grendel  and  the  dragon  stories 
were  originally  myths  of  Beow,  as  a  theory  for  which  sufficient 
evidence  is  not  forthcoming. 

But  note  where  the  theory  breaks  down.  It  seems  indis- 
putable that  Beowulf  the  Dane,  son  of  Scyld  Scefing,  is  identical 
with  Beo(w)  of  the  genealogies:  for  Beo(w)  is  son  of  Scyld*  or 
Sce(a)ldwa^,  who  is  a  Scefing.  But  here  we  must  stop.  There 
is,  as  we  have  seen,  no  evidence  that  the  Grendel  or  dragon 
adventures  were  transferred  from  him  to  their  present  hero, 

.  1  Hatton,  20.  ^  gee  above,  pp.  92-7.  ^  g^e  above,  pp.  43-4. 

*  Ethelwerd.  ^  Chronicle. 


Beow  as  the  spirit  of  the  com  297 

Beowulf  the  Geat,  son  of  Ecgtheow.  It  would,  of  course,  be 
quite  possible  to  accept  such  transference,  and  still  to  reject 
the  mythological  interpretation  of  these  adventures,  just  as  it 
would  be  possible  to  believe  that  Gawain  was  originally  a 
sun-hero,  whilst  rejecting  the  interpretation  as  a  sun-myth  of 
any  particular  adventure  which  could  be  proved  to  have  been 
once  told  concerning  Gawain.  But  I  do  not  think  we  need  even 
concede,  as  Boer^  and  Chadwick^  do,  that  adventures  have  been 
transferred  from  Beowulf  the  Dane  to  Beowulf  the  Geat.  We 
have  seen  that  there  is  no  evidence  for  such  transference,  how- 
ever intrinsically  likely  it  may  be.  Till  evidence  is  forthcoming, 
it  is  useless  to  build  upon  Kemble's  conjecture  that  Beowulf 
the  Scylding  sank  into  Beowulf  the  Waegmunding^. 

But  it  is  due  to  Kemble  to  remember  that,  while  he  only 
put  this  forward  as  a  tentative  conjecture,  what  he  was  certain 
about  was  the  identity  of  Beowulf  the  Scylding  with  Beow,  and 
the  divinity  of  these  figures.  And  here  all  the  evidence  seems 
to  justify  him. 

"The  divinity  of  the  earlier  Beowulf,"  Kemble  wrote,  "I  hold  for 
indisputable.... Beo  or  Beow  is... in  all  probability  a  god  of  agriculture 
and  fertility.... It  strengthens  this  view  of  the  case  that  he  is  the 
grandson  of  Scedf,  manipulus  frumenti,  with  whom  he  is  perhaps  in 
fact  identical*." 

Whether  or  no  Beow  and  Sceaf  were  ever  identical,  it  is 
certain  that  Beow  (grain)  the  descendant  of  Sceaf  (sheaf)  sug- 
gests a  corn-mjrfch,  some  survival  from  the  ancient  worship  of 
a  corn -spirit. 

Now  heow,  'grain,  barley,'  corresponds  to  Old  Norse  hygg, 
just  as,  corresponding  to  O.E.  triewe,  we  have  O.N.  tryggr,  or 
corresponding  to  O.E.  gleaw,  O.N.  glgggr.  Corresponding  to  the 
O.E.  proper  name  Beow,  we  might  expect  an  O.N.  name,  the 
first  letters  in  which  would  be  Bygg{v)-. 

And  pat  he  comes,  like  the  catastrophe  of  the  Old  Comedy. 
When  Loki  strode  into  the  Hall  of  ^Egir,  and  assailed  with 
clamour  and  scandal  the  assembled  gods  and  goddesses,  there 
were  present,  among  the  major  gods,  also  Byggvir  and  his  wife 

1  Boer,  Beowulf,  135,  143:  Arkiv  f.  nord.  Filologi,  xix,  29. 

2  Heroic  Age,  126.  '  Postscript  to  Preface,  p.  ix. 
*  Postscript,  pp.  xi,  xiv. 


298  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

Beyla,  the  servants  of  Frey,  the  god  of  agriculture  and  fertility. 
Loki  reviles  the  gods,  one  after  the  other:  at  last  he  exchanges 
reproaches  with  Frey.  To  see  his  lord  so  taunted  is  more  than 
Byggvir  can  endure,  and  he  turns  to  Loki  with  the  words: 

Know  thou,  that  were  my  race  such  as  is  that  of  Ingunar-Frey^ 
and  if  I  had  so  goodly  a  seat,  finer  than  marrow  would  I  grind  thee^ 
thou  crow  of  ill- omen,  and  pound  thee  all  to  pieces^. 

Byggvir  is  evidently  no  great  hero :  he  draws  his  ideas  from 
the  grinding  of  the  homely  hand-mill,  with  which  John  Barley- 
corn has  reason  to  be  familiar: 

A  miller  used  him  worst  of  all. 
For  he  crushed  him  between  two  stones^. 

Loki,  who  has  addressed  by  name  all  the  other  gods,  hi& 
acquaintances  of  old,  professes  not  to  know  who  is  this  insigni- 
ficant being:  but  his  reference  to  the  hand-mill  shows  that  in 
reality  he  knows  quite  well: 

What  is  that  little  creature  that  I  see,  fawning  and  sneaking  and 
snuffling :  ever  wilt  thou  be  at  the  ears  of  Frey,  and  chattering  at  the 
quern^. 

Byggvir  replies  with  a  dignity  which  reminds  us  of  the 
traditional  characteristics  of  Sir  John  Barleycorn,  or  Allan. 
O'Maut.     For: 

Uskie-bae  ne'er  bure  the  bell 
Sae  bald  as  Allan  bure  himsel*. 

^  See  Lokasenna  in  Die  Lieder  der  Edda,  herausg.  von  Sijmons  u.  Gering^ 
I,  134. 

Byggvir  kvaj?: 
"[Veiztu]  ef  [ek]  iS^le  ffittak  sem  Ingunar-Freyr, 

ok  sva  sffillekt  setr, 
merge  smara  mMbak  [j^a]  meinkrgko 
ok  lem}>a  alia  i  li]?o." 

2  Lines  corresponding  to  these  of  Bums  are  found  both  in  the  Scotch  ballad 
recorded  by  Jamieson,  and  in  the  English  ballad  (Pepys  Collection).  See 
Jamieson,  Popular  Ballads  and  Songs,  1806,  ii,  241,  256. 

3  Loki  kva)>: 

"Hvat's  J>at  et  litla,  es  [ek]  j^at  iQggra  sek, 

ok  snapvist  snaper? 
at  eyrom  Freys  mont[u]  ©  vesa 

ok  und  kvernom  klaka." 

*  Jamieson,  n,  239.  So  Bums:  "John  Barleycorn  was  a  hero  bold,"  and  the 
ballad 

John  Barleycorn  is  the  wightest  man 
That  ever  throve  in  land. 


Bemo  and  Byggvir  299 

Byggvir  adopts  the  same  comic-heroic  pose: 

Byggvir  am  I  named,  and  all  gods  and  men  call  me  hasty;  proud 
am  I,  by  reason  that  all  the  children  of  Odin  are  drinking  ale  together^. 

But  any  claims  Byggvir  may  make  to  be  a  hero  are  promptly 
dismissed  by  Loki: 

Hold  thou  silence,  Byggvir,  for  never  canst  thou  share  food  justly 
among  men:  thou  didst  hide  among  the  straw  of  the  hall:  they  could 
not  find  thee,  when  men  were  fighting^. 

Now  the  taunts  of  Loki,  though  we  must  hope  for  the  credit 
of  Asgard  that  they  are  false,  are  never  pointless.  And  such 
jibes  as  Loki  addresses  to  Byggvir  would  be  pointless,  if  applied 
to  one  whom  we  could  think  of  as  in  any  way  like  our  Beowulf. 
Later,  Beyla,  wife  of  Byggvir,  speaks,  and  is  silenced  with  the 
words  "Hold  thy  peace — wife  thou  art  of  Byggvir."  Byggvir  , 
must  have  been  a  recognized  figure  of  the  old  mythology^,  but 
one  differing  from  the  monster-slaying  Beow  of  Miillenhoff's 
imagination. 

Byggvir  is  a  little  creature  (et  litla),  and  we  have  seen  above^ 
that  Scandinavian  scholars  have  thought  that  they  have  dis- 
covered this  old  god  in  the  Pekko  who  "promoted  the  growth 
of  barley"  among  the  Finns  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  who 
is  still  worshipped  among  the  Esthonians  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  gulf  as  a  three  year  old  child;  the  form  Pekko  being 
derived,  it  is  supposed,  from  the  primitive  Norse  form  *Beggwuz. 
This  is  a  corner  of  a  very  big  subject:  the  discovery,  among  the 
Lapps  and  Finns,  of  traces  of  the  heathendom  of  the  most 

^  Byggvir  kva}>: 

"Byggver  ek  heite,  en  mik  brajjan  kve)>a 

go\>  9II  ok  gumar; 
]>vi  emk  h^r  hrojjogr,  at  drekka  Hropts  meger 
aller  9I  saman." 
*  Loki  kva|>: 

"))ege  J)ii,  Byggver!     \>vi  kunner  aldrege 

deila  me\>  mgnnom  mat; 
[ok]  )>ik  1  flets  strae  finna  n6  mptto, 
]}&s  v9go  verar." 
'  This  follows  from  the  allusive  way  in  which  he  and  his  wife  are  introduced 
— there  must  be  a  background  to  allusions.     If  the  poet  were  inventing  this 
figure,  and  had  no  background  of  knowledge  in  his  audience  to  appeal  to,  he 
must  have  been  more  expUcit.     Cf.  Olsen  in  Christiania  VidenskapsseUkapets 
Skrifter,  1914,  11,  2,  107. 


300  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

ancient  Teutonic  world,  just  as  Thomsen  has  taught  us  to  find 
in  the  Finnish  language  traces  of  Teutonic  words  in  their  most 
antique  form. 

The  Lappish  field  has  proved  the  most  successful  hunting 
ground^:  among  the  Finns,  apart  from  the  Thunder-god,  con- 
nection with  Norse  beliefs  is  arguable  mainly  for  a  group  of 
gods  of  fruitfulness^.  The  cult  of  these,  it  is  suggested,  comes 
from  scattered  Scandinavian  settlers  in  Finland,  among  whom 
the  Finns  dwelt,  and  from  whom  they  learnt  the  worship  of 
the  spirits  of  the  seed  and  of  the  spring,  just  as  they  learnt 
more  practical  lessons.  First  and  foremost  among  these  stands 
Pekko,  whom  we  know  to  have  been  especially  the  god  of  barley, 
and  whose  connection  with  Beow  or  Byggvir  {^Beggwuz)  is 
therefore  a  likely  hypothesis  enough^.  Much  less  certain  is 
the  connection  of  Sampsa,  the  spirit  of  vegetation,  with  any 
Germanic  prototype;  he  may  have  been  a  god  of  the  rush-grass* 
(Germ,  simse).  Runkoteivas  orRukotivo  was  certainly  the  god 
of  rye,  and  the  temptation  to  derive  his  name  from  Old  Norse 
{rugr-tivorr,  "rye-god")  is  great^.   But  we  have  not  evidence  for 

1  See  Olrik,  "Nordisk  og  Lappisk  Gudsdyrkelse,"  Danske  Studier,  1905, 
pp.  39-57;  "Tordenguden  og  hans  dreng,"  1905,  pp.  129-46;  "Tordenguden  og 
bans  dreng  i  Lappernes  myteverden,"  1906,  pp.  65-9;  Krohn,  "Lappische 
beitrage  zur  germ,  mythologie,"  Finnisch-Ugrische  Forschungen,  vi,  1906, 
pp.  155-80. 

2  See  Axel  Olrik  in  Festgabe  f.  Vilh.  Thomsen,  1912  {=  Finnisch-Ugrische 
Forschungen,  xii,  1,  p.  40).  Olrik  refers  therein  to  his  earlier  paper  on  the 
subject  in  Danske  Studier,  1911,  p.  38,  and  to  a  forthcoming  article  in  the 
Germanisch-Romanische  Monatsschrift,  which  has,  I  think,  never  appeared. 
See  also  K.  Krohn  in  Gottingische  gelehrte  Anzeigen,  1912,  p.  211.  Reviewing 
Meyer's  Altgermanische  Religionsgeschichte,  Krohn,  after  referring  to  the  Teutonic 
gods  of  agriculture,  continues  "Ausser  diesen  agrikulturellen  Gottheiten  sind 
aus  der  finnischen  Mythologie  mit  Hiilfe  der  Linguistik  mehrere  germanische 
Naturgotter  welche  verschiedene  Nutzpfianzen  vertreten,  entdeckt  worden: 
der  Roggengott  Runkoteivas  oder  Rukotivo,  der  Gerstengott  Pekko  (nach 
Magnus  Olsen  aus  urnord.  Beggw-,  vgl.  Byggwir)  und  ein  Gott  des  Futtergrases 
Sampsa  (vgl.  Semse  od.  Simse,  'die  Binse')."  See  also  Krohn,  "Germanische 
Elemente  in  der  finnischen  Volksdichtung,"  Z.f.d.A.  li,  1909,  pp.  13-22;  and 
Karsten,  "Einige  Zeugnisse  zur  altnordischen  Gotterverehrung  in  Finland," 
Finnisch-Ugrische  Forschungen,  xii,  307-16. 

3  As  proposed  by  K.  Krohn  in  a  publication  of  the  Finnish  Academy  at 
Helsingfors  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  consult,  but  as  to  which  see  Setala 
in  Finnisch-Ugrische  Forschungen,  xiii,  311,  424.  Setala  accepts  the  derivation 
from  beggwu-,  rejecting  an  alternative  derivation  of  Pekko  from  a  Finnish  root. 

*  This  is  proposed  by  J.  J.  Mikkola  in  a  note  appended  to  the  article  by 
K.  Krohn,  "Sampsa  Pellervoinen<Njordr,  Freyr?"  in  Finnisch-Ugrische 
Forschungen,  iv,  231-48.  See  also  Olrik,  "Forarsmyten  hos  Finnerne,"  in 
Danske  Studier,  1907,  pp.  62-4. 

^  See  note  by  K.  Krohn,  Finnisch-Ugrische  Forschungen,  vi,  105. 


I 


PehTco        '  301 

the  worship  among  Germanic  peoples  of  such  a  rye-god,  as  we 
have  in  the  case  of  the  barley-god  Byggvir-Beow.  These 
shadowy  heathen  gods,  however,  do  give  each  other  a  certain 
measure  of  mutual  support. 

And,  whether  or  no  Pekko  be  the  same  as  Byggvir,  his 
worship  is  interesting  as  showing  how  the  spirit  of  vegetation 
may  be  honoured  among  primitive  folk.  His  worshippers,  the 
Setukese,  although  nominally  members  of  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church,  speak  their  own  dialect  and  often  hardly  understand 
that  of  their  Russian  priests,  but  keep  their  old  epic  and  lyric 
traditions  more  than  almost  any  other  section  of  the  Finnish- 
Esthonian  race.  Pekko,  who  was  honoured  among  the  Finns 
in  the  sixteenth  century  for  "promoting  the  growth  of  barley," 
survives  among  the  present-day  peasantry  around  Pskoff,  not 
only  as  a  spirit  to  be  worshipped,  but  as  an  actual  idol,  fashioned 
out  of  wax  in  the  form  of  a  child,  sometimes  of  a  three  year  old 
child.  He  lives  in  the  corn-bin,  but  on  certain  occasions  is 
carried  out  into  the  fields.  Not  everyone  can  afford  the  amount 
of  wax  necessary  for  a  Pekko — in  fact  there  is  usually  only  one 
in  a  village:  he  lodges  in  turn  with  different  members  of  his 
circle  of  worshippers.  He  holds  two  moveable  feasts,  on  moon- 
light nights — one  in  spring,  the  other  in  autumn.  The  wax 
figure  is  brought  into  a  lighted  room  draped  in  a  sheet,  there  is 
feasting,  with  dancing  hand  in  hand,  and  singing  round  Pekko. 
Then  they  go  out  to  decide  who  shall  keep  Pekko  for  the  next 
year — his  host  is  entitled  to  special  blessing  and  protection. 
Pekko  is  carried  out  into  the  field,  especially  to  preside  over 
the  sowing^. 

I  doubt  whether,  in  spite  of  the  high  authorities  which 
support  it,  we  can  as  yet  feel  at  all  certain  about  the  identifica- 
tion of  Beow  and  Pekko.  But  I  think  we  can  accept  with  fair 
certainty  the  identification  of  Beow  and  Byggvir.  And  we  can 
at  any  rate  use  Pekko  as  a  collateral  example  of  the  way  in 
which  a  grain-spirit  is  regarded.  Now  in  either  case  we  find 
no  support  whatever  for  the  supposition  that  the  activities  of 

^  See  above,  p.  87,  and  M.  J.  Eisen,  "Ueber  den  Pekokultus  bei  den  Setu- 
kesen,"  Finnisch-Ugriache  Forschungeriy  vi,  104-11. 


302  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

Beow,  the  spirit  of  the  barley,  could,  or  would,  have  been 
typified  under  the  guise  of  battles  such  as  those  which  Beowulf 
the  Geat  wages  against  Grendel,  Grendel's  mother,  and  the 
dragon.  In  Beowulf  the  Geat  we  find  much  that  suggests  the 
hero  of  folk-tale,  overlaid  with  much  that  belongs  to  him  as 
the  hero  of  an  heroic  poem,  but  nothing  suggestive  of  a  corn- 
myth.  On  the  other  hand,  so  long  as  we  confine  ourselves  to 
Beow  and  his  ancestor  Sceaf,  we  are  in  touch  with  this  type  of 
myth,  however  remotely.  The  way  that  Sceaf  comes  over  the 
sea,  as  recorded  by  William  of  Malmesbury,  is  characteristic. 
That  "Sheaf"  should  be,  in  the  language  of  Miillenhoff,  "placed 
in  a  boat  and  committed  to  the  winds  and  waves  in  the  hope 
that  he  will  return  new-born  in  the  spring"  is  exactly  what  we 
might  expect,  from  the  analogy  of  harvest  customs  and  myths 
of  the  coming  of  spring. 

In  Saetersdale,  in  Norway,  when  the  ice  broke  up  in  the 
spring,  and  was  driven  ashore,  the  inhabitants  used  to  welcome 
it  by  throwing  their  hats  into  the  air,  and  shouting  "  Welcome, 
Corn-boat."  It  was  a  good  omen  if  the  "Corn-boats"  were 
driven  high  and  dry  up  on  the  land^.  The  floating  of  the  sheaf 
on  a  shield  down  the  Thames  at  Abingdon^  reminds  us  of  the 
Bulgarian  custom,  in  accordance  with  which  the  venerated  last 
sheaf  of  the  harvest  was  floated  down  the  river^.  But  every 
neighbourhood  is  not  provided  with  convenient  rivers,  and  in 
many  places  the  last  sheaf  is  merely  drenched  with  water.  This 
is  an  essential  part  of  the  custom  of  "crying  the  neck." 

The  precise  ritual  of  "  crying  the  neck  "  or  "  crying  the  mare  " 
was  confined  to  the  west  and  south-west  of  England*.  But  there 
is  no  such  local  limitation  about  the  custom  of  drenching  the 

^  See  M.  Olsen,  HedensJce  Kultminder  i  Norshe  Stedsnavne,  Christiania 
Videnskapsselskapets  Skrifter,  ii,  2,  1914,  pp.  227-8. 

2  See  above,  p.  84. 

^  Mannhardt,  Mythologische  Forschungen,  332. 

*  In  view  of  the  weight  laid  upon  this  custom  by  Olrik  as  illustrating  the 
story  of  Sceaf,  it  is  necessary  to  note  that  it  seems  to  be  confined  to  parts  of 
England  bordering  on  the  "Celtic  fringe."  See  above,  pp.  81,  etc.  Olrik  and 
Olsen  quote  it  as  Kentish  (see  Heltedigtning,  ii,  252)  but  this  is  certainly  wrong. 
Frazer  attributes  the  custom  of  "crying  the  mare"  to  Hertfordshire  and 
Shropshire  {Spirits  of  the  Corn,  i,  292  =  Golden  Bough,  3rd  edit.,  vn,  292).  In 
this  he  is  following  Brand's  Popular  Antiquities  (1813,  i,  443;  1849,  ii,  24; 
also  Carew  Hazlitt,  1905,  i,  157),  But  Brand's  authority  is  Blount's  Glosso- 
graphia,  1674,  and  Blount  says  Herefordshire. 


The  cult  of  the  Sheaf  303 

last  sheaf,  or  its  bearers  and  escort,  with  water.  This  has  been 
recorded,  among  other  places,  at  Hitchin  in  Hertfordshire^,  in 
Cambridgeshire^,  Nottinghamshire^,  Pembrokeshire*,  Wigtown- 
shire^ as  well  as  in  Holstein®,  Westphalia',  Prussia^,  Galicia*, 

Saxon  Transsylvania^^,  Roumania^^  and  perhaps  in  ancient 
Phrygia^^ 

Now  it  is  true  that  drenching  the  last  sheaf  with  water,  as 
a  rain  charm,  is  by  no  means  the  same  thing  as  floating  it  down 
the  river,  in  the  expectation  that  it  will  come  again  in  the 
spring.  But  it  shows  the  same  sense  of  the  continued  existence 
of  the  corn-spirit.  That  the  seed,  when  sown,  should  be  sprinkled 
with  water  as  a  rain  charm  (as  is  done  in  places)  seems  obvious 
and  natural  enough.  But  when  the  last  sheaf  of  the  preceding 
harvest  is  thus  sprinkled,  to  ensure  plenteous  rain  upon  the 
crops  of  next  year,  we  detect  the  same  idea  of  continuity  which 
we  find  expressed  when  Sceaf  comes  to  land  from  over  the  sea : 
the  spirit  embodied  in  the  sheaf  of  last  year's  harvest  returning, 
and  bringing  the  renewed  power  of  vegetation. 

The  voyage  of  the  Abingdon ian  sheaf  on  the  Thames  was 
conducted  upon  a  shield,  and  it  may  be  that  the  "vessel  without 
a  rower"  in  which  "Sheaf"  came  to  land  was,  in  the  original 
version,  a  shield.  There  would  be  precedent  for  this.  The 
shield  was  known  by  the  puzzling  name  of  "UlFs  ship"  in 
Scaldic  poetry,  presumably  because  the  god  UU  used  his  shield 
as  a  boat.  Anyway,  Scyld  came  to  be  closely  connected  with 
Sceaf  and  Beow.  In  Ethel werd  he  is  son  of  the  former  and 
father  of  the  latter:  but  in  the  Chronicle  genealogies  five  names 
intervene  between  Scyld  and  Sceaf,  and  the  son  of  Sceaf  is 
Bedwig,  or  as  he  is  called  in  one  version,  Beowi.  Bedwig 
and  Beowi  are  probably  derived  from  Beowius,  the  Latinized 

1  Brand,  Popular  Antiquities ^  1849,  n,  24. 

«  Frazer  in  the  Folk  Lore  Journal,  vn,  1889,  pp.  50,  51;  Adonis,  Attia  and 
Osiris,  I,  237. 

3  Frazer,  Adonis,  Attis  and  Osiris,  i,  238  (Golden  Bough,  3rd  edit.). 

*  Frazer,  Spirits  of  the  Corn  and  of  the  Wild,  i,  143-4. 

^  Frazer  in  the  Folk-Lore  Journal,  vn,  1889,  pp.  50,  51. 

*  Mannhardt,  Forschungen,  317. 

'  Frazer,  Spirits  of  the  Corn,  i,  138. 

*  Mannhardt,  323;  Fraser,  Adonis,  i,  238. 

»  Mannhardt,  330.  '»  Mannhardt,  24;  Frazer,  Admis,  i,  238. 

"  Frazer,  Adonis,  i,  237.  12  Frazer,  Spirits  of  the  Corn,  i,  217 


304  A  Postscript  on  Mythology  in  Beowulf 

form  of  Beow.  A  badly  formed  o  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
a  d,  and  indeed  Beowius  appears  in  forms  much  more  corrupt. 
In  that  case  it  would  appear  that  while  some  genealogies  made 
Beow  the  son  of  Scyld,  others  made  him  son  of  Sceaf,  and  that 
the  compiler  of  the  pedigree  got  over  the  difl&culty  in  the  usual 
way,  by  adding  the  one  version  to  the  other^. 

But  all  this  is  very  hypothetical;  and  how  and  when  Scyld 
came  to  be  connected  with  Sceaf  and  with  Beow  we  cannot- 
with  any  certainty  say.  At  any  rate  we  find  no  trace  of  such 
connection  in  Danish  traditions  of  the  primitive  King  Skjold 
of  the  Danes.  But  we  can  say,  with  some  certainty,  that  in 
Beowulf  the  Dane,  the  son  of  Scyld  Scefing,  in  our  poem,  we 
have  a  figure  which  is  identical  with  Beow,  son  of  Scyld  or  of 
Sceldwa  and  descendant  of  Sceaf,  in  the  genealogies,  and  that 
this  Beow  is  likely  to  have  been  an  ancient  corn-spirit,  parallel 
to  the  Scandinavian  Byggvir.  That  amount  of  mythology 
probably  does  underlie  the  Prologue  to  Beowulf,  though  the 
author  would  no  doubt  have  been  highly  scandalized  had  he 
suspected  that  his  pattern  of  a  young  prince  was  only  a  dis- 
guised heathen  god.  But  I  think  that  any  further  attempt  to 
proceed,  from  this,  to  mythologize  the  deeds  of  Beowulf  the 
Geat,  is  pure  conjecture,  and  probably  quite  fruitless  conjecture, 

I  ought  not  to  conclude  this  note  without  reference  to  the 
admirable  discussion  of  this  subject  by  Prof.  Bjorkman  in 
Englische  Studien^.  This,  with  the  elucidation  of  other  proper 
names  in  Beowulf y  was  destined  to  be  the  last  big  contribu- 
tion to  knowledge  made  by  that  ripe  and  good  scholar,  whose 
premature  loss  we  all  deplore;  and  it  shows  to  the  full  those 
qualities  of  wide  knowledge  and  balanced  judgment  which  we 
have  all  learnt  to  admire  in  him. 

B.     GRENDEL 

It  may  be  helpful  to  examine  the  places  where  the  name  of 
Grendel  occurs  in  English  charters. 

1  See  Bjorkman  in  Anglia,  Beihlait,  xxx,  1919,  p.  23.  In  a  similar  way 
Sceaf  appears  twice  in  William  of  Malmesbury,  once  as  Sceaf  and  once  as 
Strephius. 

2  Vol.  Lii,  p.  145. 


The  haunts  of  Grendel  305 

A.D.  708.  Grant  of  land  at  Abbots  Morton,  near  Alcester, 
CO.  Worcester,  by  Kenred,  King  of  the  Mercians,  to  Evesham 
(extant  in  a  late  copy). 

Mrest  of  grindeles  pytt  on  witSimmre;  of  ividimsere  on  pmt  reade 
sldh...of  &ere  dice  on  J?ene  hlace  pol;  of  pdm  pole  lefter  long pidele 
in  to  pdm  mersce ;  of  pdm  mersce  pa  aft  on  grindeles  pi/tt'^. 

The  valley  of  the  Piddle  Brook  is  about  a  mile  wide,  with 
hills  rising  on  each  side  till  they  reach  a  height  of  a  couple  of 
hundred  feet  above  the  brook.  The  directions  begin  in  the 
valley  and  run  "From  Grindel's  'pytt'  to  the  willow-mere; 
from  the  willow-mere  to  the  red  morass" ;  then  from  the  morass 
the  directions  take  us  up  the  hill  and  along  the  lea,  where  they 
continue  among  the  downs  till  we  again  make  our  descent  into 
the  valley,  "from  the  ditch  to  the  black  pool,  from  the  pool 
along  the  Piddle  brook  to  the  marsh,  and  from  the  marsh  back 
to  Grindel's  'pytt.'"  In  modern  English  a  "pit"  is  an  artificial 
hole  which  is  generally  dry:  but  the  word  is  simply  Latin  puteus, 
"a  well,"  and  is  used  in  this  sense  in  the  Gospel  translations. 
Here  it  is  a  hole,  and  we  may  be  sure  that,  with  the  willow-mere 
and  the  red  slough  on  the  one  side,  and  the  black  pool  and  the 
marsh  on  the  other,  the  hole  was  full  of  water. 

A.D.  739.  Grant  of  land  at  Greedy,  co.  Devon,  by  iEthel- 
heard,  King  of  Wessex,  to  Bishop  Forthhere. 

of  doddan  hrycge  on  grendeles  pyt;  of  grendeles  pytte  on 
ifighearo  (ivy-grove) ...  2. 

The  spot  is  near  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Exe  and  Greedy^ 
with  Dartmoor  in  the  distance.  The  neighbourhood  bears 
uncanny  names,  C dines  secer,  egesan  treow.  If,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested by  Napier  and  Stevenson,  a  trace  of  this  pit  still  survives 
in  the  name  Pitt  farm,  the  mere  must  have  been  in  the  uplands, 
about  600  feet  above  sea  level. 

i  MS  Cott.  Vesp.  B.  XXIV,  fol.  32  (Evesham  Cartulary).  See  Birch,  Cart. 
Sax.  I,  176  (No.  120);  Kemhle,  Cod.  Dipl.  m,  376.  Kemble  prints /«<«/«  for /a 
asft  (MS  "■)>  fflft").  For  examples  of  "-)i"  for>a,  see  JElfrics  Orammatik,  her&us^. 
Zupitza,  1880;  38,  3;  121,  4;  291,  1. 

*  There  are  two  copies,  one  of  the  tenth  and  one  of  the  eleventh  century, 
among  the  Crawford  Collection  in  the  Bodleian.  See  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  iii, 
667  (No.  1331);  Napier  and  Stevenson,  The  Cratvford  Collection  (Anecdota 
Oxoniensia),  1895,  pp.  1,  3,  50. 

OB.'  20 


306  Grendel 

A.D.  931.  Grant  of  land  at  Ham  in  Wiltshire  by  Athelstan 
to  his  thane  Wulfgar.  Quoted  above,  p.  43.  It  is  in  this 
charter  that  on  Beowan  hammes  Jiecgan,  on  Grendles  mere^  occur. 
"Grendel  pits  or  meres"  are  in  most  other  cases  in  low-lying 
marshy  country :  but  this,  like  (perhaps)  the  preceding  one,  is  in 
the  uplands — it  must  have  been  a  lonely  mere  among  the  hills, 
under  Inkpen  Beacon. 

Circa  a.d.  957.     A  list  of  boundaries  near  Battersea^. 

Bis  synd  &d  landgemxre  to  Batriceseie.  Mrst  at  hegefre ; 
fram  hegefre  to  g^tenesheale;  fram  gmteneshsele  to  gryndeles  syllen  ; 
fram gryndeles  sylle  to  russemere ;  fram  ryssemere  to  hadgenham.... 

All  this  is  low-lying  land,  just  south  of  the  Thames.  Hegefre 
is  on  the  river;  Bselgenham  is  Balham,  co.  Surrey.  "From 
Grendel's  mire  to  the  rushy  mere"  harmonizes  excellently  with 
what  we  know  of  the  swampy  nature  of  this  district  in  early 
times. 

A.D.  958.  Grant  of  land  at  Swinford,  on  the  Stour,  co. 
Stafford,  by  King  Eadred  to  his  thane  Burhelm^. 

Ondlong  hseces  wi&neol^an  eostacote;  ondlong  dices  in  grendels- 
mere;  of  grendels-mere  in  stdncofan;  of  stdncofan  ondlong  dUne  on 
stir  an  mere.... 

A.D.  972.  Confirmation  of  lands  to  Pershore  Abbey  (Wor- 
cester) by  King  Edgar*. 

of  Grindles  hece  swd  pmt  genisere  ligtS.... 

A.D.  972.  Extract  from  an  account  of  the  descent  of  lands 
belonging  to  Westminster,  quoting  a  grant  of  King  Edgar^. 

andlang  hagan  to  grendeles  gatan  a^fter  kincges  mearce  innan 
hriegentan.... 

The  property  described  is  near  Watling  Street,  between 
Edgware,  Hendon,  and  the  River  Brent.     It  is  a  low-lying 

1  MS  Cotton  Gh.  VIII,  16.  See  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  ii,  363  (No.  677);  Kemble, 
Cod.  Dipl.  II,  172. 

2  A  nearly  contemporary  copy:  Westminster  Abbey  CJiarters,  iii.  See 
Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  iii,  189  (No.  994),  and  W.  B.  Sanders,  Ord.  Surv.  Foes,  ii, 
plate  III. 

3  A  fourteenth   to   fifteenth   century  copy  preserved  at  Wells   Cathedral  j 
{Registr.  Album,  f.  289  6).     See  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  iii,  223  (No.  1023). 

<  MS  Cotton  Aug.  II,  6.     See  Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  iii,  588  (No.  1282). 

6  Brit.  Mu8.  Stowe  Chart.  No.  32.     See  Birch,  Cart,  Sax.  iii,  605  (No.  1290) 

I 


His  liking  for  mereSf  pits,  mires  and  hecks         307 

district  almost  surrounded  by  the  hills  of  Hampstead,  Highgate, 
Barnet,  Mill  Hill,  Elstree,  Bushey  Heath  and  Harrow.  The 
bottom  of  the  basin  thus  formed  must  have  been  a  swamp  ^. 
What  the  "gate"  may  have  been  it  is  difficult  to  say.  A  foreign 
scholar  has  suggested  that  it  may  have  been  a  narrow  mountain 
defile  or  possibly  a  cave^:  but  this  suggestion  could  never  have 
been  made  by  anyone  who  knew  the  country.  The  "gate"  is 
likely  to  have  been  a  channel  connecting  two  meres — or  it  might 
have  been  a  narrow  piece  of  land  between  them — one  of  those 
enge  dnpa&as  which  Grendel  and  his  mother  had  to  tread. 
Anyway,  there  is  nothing  exceptional  in  this  use  of  "gate"  in 
connection  with  a  water-spirit.  Necker,  on  the  Continent,  also 
had  his  "gates."  Thus  there  is  a  "Neckersgate  Mill"  near 
Brussels,  and  the  name  "Neckersgate"  used  also  to  be  applied 
to  a  group  of  houses  near  by,  surrounded  by  water^. 

All  the  other  places  clearly  point  to  a  water-spirit :  two  meres, 
two  pits,  a  mire  and  a  beck :  for  the  most  part  situated  in  low- 
lying  country  which  must  in  Anglo-Saxon  times  have  been 
swampy.  All  this  harmonizes  excellently  with  the  fenfreo&o 
of  Beowulf  (1.  851).  Of  course  it  does  not  in  the  least  follow  that 
these  places  were  named  after  the  Grendel  of  our  poem.  It 
may  well  be  that  there  was  in  England  a  current  belief  in  a 
creature  Grendel,  dwelling  among  the  swamps.  Von  Sydow  has 
compared  the  Yorkshire  belief  in  Peg  Powler,  or  the  Lancashire 
Jenny  Greenteeth.  But  these  aquatic  monsters  are  not  exactly 
parallel;  for  they  abide  in  the  water,  and  are  dangerous  only 
to  those  who  attempt  to  cross  it,  or  at  any  rate  venture  too  near 
the  bank*,  whilst  Grendel  and  even  his  mother  are  capable  of 
excursions  of  some  distance  from  their  fastness  amid  the  fens. 


1  Cf.  the  Victoria  History,  Middlesex,  it,  p.  1. 

2  "  Orendelea  gate  har  val  snarast  varit  nagon  naturbildning  t.  ex.  ett  trangt 
bergpass  eller  kanske  en  grotta":  C.  W.  von  Sydow,  in  an  excellent  article  on 
Orendel  i  anglosaxiska  ortnamn,  in  Nordiska  Ortnamn:  Hyllningsshrift  tilldgnad 
A.  Noreen,  Upsala,  1914,  pp.  160-4. 

3  Pr6s  du  Necker sgat  molen,  il  y  avait  jadis,  anterieurement  aux  guerres  de 
religion,  des  maisons  entourees  d'eau  et  appelees  de  hoffstede  te  Neckersgate: 
Wauters  (A.),  Histoire  des  Environs  de  Bruxelles,  1852,  iii,  646. 

*  Peg  Powler  lived  in  the  Tees,  and  devoured  children  who  played  on  the 
banks,  especially  on  Sundays:  Peg  o'  Nell,  in  the  Ribble,  demanded  a  life  every 
seven  years.  See  Henderson  ( W. ),  Notes  on  the  Folk-Lore  of  the  Northern  Counties 
of  England,  1879  {Folk-Lore  Society),  p.  265. 

20—2  * 


308  Grendel 

Of  course  the  mere-haunting  Grendel  may  have  been  iden- 
tified only  at  a  comparatively  late  date  with  the  spirit  who 
struggles  with  the  hero  in  the  house,  and  flees  below  the  earth 
in  the  folk- tale. 

At  any  rate  belief  in  a  Grendel,  haunting  mere  and  fen,  is 
clearly  demonstrable  for  England — at  any  rate  for  the  south 
and  west  of  England:  for  of  these  place-names  two  belong  to 
the  London  district,  one  to  Wiltshire,  one  to  Devonshire,  two 
to  Worcester  and  one  to  Stafford.  The  place-name  Grendele  in 
Yorkshire  is  too  doubtful  to  be  of  much  help.  (Domesday  Book, 
I,  302.)  It  is  the  modern  village  Grindale,  four  miles  N.W.  of 
Bridlington.  From  it,  probably,  is  derived  the  surname  Grindle, 
Grindall  (Bardsley). 

Abroad,  the  nearest  parallel  is  to  be  found  in  Transsylvania, 
where  there  is  a  Grdndels  mdr  among  the  Saxons  of  the  Senndorf 
district,  near  Bistritz.  The  Saxons  of  Transsylvania  are  sup- 
posed to  have  emigrated  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lower 
Rhine  and  the  Moselle,  and  there  is  a  Grindelhach  in  Luxemburg 
which  may  possibly  be  connected  with  the  marsh  demon ^. 

Most  of  the  German  names  in  Grindel-  or  Grendel-  are  con- 
nected with  grendel,  "a  bar,"  and  therefore  do  not  come  into 
consideration  here^ :  but  theTranssylvanian  "  Grendel's  marsh^,'* 
anyway,  reminds  us  of  the  English  "  Grendel's  marsh  "  or  "  mere  " 
or  "pit."  Nevertheless,  the  local  story  with  which  the  Trans- 
sylvanian  swamp  is  connected — that  of  a  peasant  who  was 
ploughing  with  six  oxen  and  was  swallowed  up  in  the  earth — 
is  such  that  it  requires  considerable  ingenuity  to  see  any  con- 
nection between  it  and  the  Beowulf -Grendel-tole^. 

^  See  Kisch  (G.),  Vergleichendes  Worterbuch  der  siebenbilrgischen  und  mosel- 
^rdnkischluxemburgischen  Mundart,  nebst  siebenbiirgischniederrheinischem  Orts- 
und  Familiennamen-verzeichnis  (vol.  xxxiii,  1  of  the  Archiv  des  Vereins  f. 
siebenbiirg.   Landeskunde,  1905). 

2  See  Grindel  in  Forstemann  (E.),  Altdeutsches  Namenbuch,  Dritte  Aufl., 
herausg.  Jellinghaus,  ii,  1913,  and  in  Fischer  (H.),  Schwdbisches  Worterbuch^ 
III,  1911  (nevertheless  Rooth  legitimately  calls  attention  to  the  names  recorded 
by  Fischer  in  which  Grindel  is  connected  with  bach,  teich  and  moos). 

*  There  is  an  account  of  this  by  G.  Kisch  in  the  Festgabe  zur  Feier  der 
Einweihung  des  neuen  evang.  Gymnasial  Burger-  und  Elementar-schulgebdudes  in 
Besztercze  {Bistritz)  am  7  Oct.  1911;  a  document  which  I  have  not  been  able  to 
procure. 

*  Such  a  connection  is  attempted  by  W.  Benary  in  Hern^B  Archiv,  cxxx,  154 
Alternative  suggestions,  which  would  exclude  any  connection  with  the  Grendel 
of  Beoumlf,  are  made  by  Klaeber,  in  Archiv,  cxxxi,  427. 


I 

] 


Suggested  derivations  of  the  name  309 

The  Anglo-Saxon  place-names  may  throw  some  light  upon 
the  meaning  and  etymology  of  "GrendeU."  The  name  has 
generally  been  derived  from  grindan, "  to  grind  " ;  either  directly^, 
because  Grendel  grinds  the  bones  of  those  he  devours,  or  in- 
directly, in  the  sense  of  "  tormentor^."  Others  would  connect  with 
O.'N.  grindill,  "storm,"  and  perhaps  with  M.E.  gryndel,  "angry*." 

It  has  recently  been  proposed  to  connect  the  word  with 
grund,  "bottom":  for  Grendel  lives  in  the  mere-grund  or  grund- 
wong  and  his  mother  is  the  grund-wyrgin.  Erik  Rooth,  who 
proposes  this  etymology,  compares  the  Icelandic  grandi,  "a 
sandbank,"  and  the  common  Low  German  dialect  word  grand, 
"coarse  sand^."  This  brings  us  back  to  the  root  "to  grind," 
for  grand,  "sand"  is  simply  the  product  of  the  grinding  of  the 
waves^.  Indeed  the  same  explanation  has  been  given  of  the 
word  "ground^." 

However  this  may  be,  the  new  etymology  differs  from  the 
old  in  giving  Grendel  a  name  derived,  not  from  his  grinding  or 
tormenting  others,  but  from  his  dwelling  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lake  or  marsh^.  The  name  would  have  a  parallel  in  the  Modern 
English  grindle,  grundel,  German  grundeP,  a  fish  haunting  the 
bottom  of  the  water. 

The  Old  English  place-names,  associating  Grendel  as  they 
do  with  meres  and  swamps,  seem  rather  to  support  this. 

As  to  the  Devonshire  stream  Grendel  (now  the  Grindle  or 
Greendale  Brook),  it  has  been  suggested  that  this  name  is  also 

1  A  very  useful  summary  of  the  different  etymologies  proposed  is  made  by 
Rooth  in  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxviii  (1917),  335-8. 

2  So  Skeat,  "On  the  significance  of  the  monster  Grendel,"  Journal  of 
Philology,  Cambridge,  xv  (1886),  p.  123;  Laistner,  Batsel  der  Sphinx,  1889, 
p.  23;  Holthausen,  in  his  edition. 

=»  So  Weinhold  in  the  SB.  der  k.  Akad.  Wien,  Phil.-Hist.  Classe,  xxvi,  255. 

*  Cf.  Gollanoz,  Patience,  1913,  Glossary.  For  grindill  as  one  of  the  synonyms 
for  "storm,"  see  Edda  Snorra  Sturlusonar,  Hafniae,  1852,  n,  486,  569. 

^  This  will  be  found  in  several  of  the  vocabularies  of  Low  German  dialects 
published  by  the  Vereinfur  Niederdeutsche  Sprachforschung. 

«  See  grand  in  Falk  and  Torp,  Etymologisk  Ordbog,  Kristiania,  1903-6. 

'  See  Feist,  Etymol.  Worterbuch  der  Ootischen  Sprache,  Halle,  1909;  grundu- 
loaddjus. 

*  With  Grendel,  thus  explained,  Rooth  would  connect  the  "Earth  man" 
of  the  fairy-tale  "Dat  Erdmanneken"  (see  below,  p.  370)  and  the  name 
Sandhaug,  Sandey,  which  clings  to  the  Scandinavian  Orettir-  and  Orw-stories. 
We  have  seen  that  a  sandhaug  figures  also  in  one  of  the  Scandinavian  cognates 
of  the  folk-tale  (see  above,  p.  67).  These  resemblances  may  be  noted,  though 
it  would  be  perilous  to  draw  deductions  from  them. 

*  Schweizerisches  Idiotikon,  ii,  1885,  p.  776. 


310  Grendel 

connected  with  the  root  grand,  "gravel,"  "sand."  But,  so  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  observe,  there  is  no  particular  suggestion 
of  sand  or  gravel  about  this  modest  little  brook.  If  we  follow 
the  Eiver  Clyst  from  the  point  where  the  Grindle  flows  into  it, 
through  two  miles  of  marshy  land,  to  the  estuary  of  the  Exe, 
we  shall  there  find  plenty.  But  it  is  clear  from  the  charter  of 
963  that  the  name  was  then,  as  now,  restricted  to  the  small 
brook.  I  cannot  tell  why  the  stream  should  bear  the  name,  or 
what,  if  any,  is  the  connection  with  the  monster  Grendel.  We 
can  only  note  that  the  name  is  again  found  attached  to  water, 
and,  near  the  junction  with  the  Clyst,  to  marshy  ground. 

Anyone  who  will  hunt  Grendel  through  the  shires,  first  on 
the  6-in.  ordnance  map,  and  later  on  foot,  will  probably  have  to 
agree  with  the  Three  Jovial  Huntsmen 

This  huntin'  doesn't  pay, 
But  we'n  powler't  up  an'  down  a  bit,  an'  had  a  rattlin'  day. 

But,  if  some  conclusions,  although  scanty,  can  be  drawn 
from  place-names  in  which  the  word  grendel  occurs,  nothing 
can  be  got  from  the  numerous  place-names  which  have  been 
thought  to  contain  the  name  Beow,  The  clearest  of  these  is 
the  on  Beowan  hammes  hecgan,  which  occurs  in  the  Wiltshire 
charter  of  931.  But  we  can  learn  nothing  definite  from  it:  and 
although  there  are  other  instances  of  strong  and  weak  forms 
alternating,  we  cannot  even  be  quite  certain  that  the  Beowa 
here  is  identical  with  the  Beow  of  the  genealogies^. 

The  other  cases,  many  of  which  occur  in  Domesday  Booh 
are  worthless.  Those  which  point  to  a  weak  form  may  often 
be  derived  from  the  weak  noun  heo,  "bee":  "  The  Anglo-Saxons 
set  great  store  by  their  bees,  honey  and  wax  being  indispensables 
to  them2." 

Beas  hroc,  Bias  f eld  (Bewes  feld)  occur  in  charters:  but  here 
a  connection  with  heaw,  "horsefly,"  is  possible:  for  parallels,  one 
has  only  to  consider  the  long  list  of  places  enumerated  by 
Bjorkman,  the  names  of  which  are  derived  from  those  of  beasts, 

*  See  above,  pp.  43,  etc.;  below,  p.  311. 
•Duignan,  Warioickshire  Place  Names,  p.  22.     Duignan  suggests  the  same 
etymology  for  Beoshelle,  beos  being  "the  Norman  scribe's  idea  of  the  gen.  plu.'* 
This,  however,  is  very  doubtful. 


Beow,  Bea,  in  place  names  311 

birds,  or  insects^.  And  in  such  a  word  as  Beoleah,  even  if  the 
first  element  be  beow,  why  may  it  not  be  the  common  noun 
*' barley,"  and  not  the  name  of  the  hero  at  all? 

No  argument  can  therefore  be  drawn  from  such  a  conjecture 
as  that  of  Olrik,  that  Beas  brdc  refers  to  the  water  into  which 
the  last  sheaf  (representing  Beow)  was  thrown,  in  accordance 
with  the  harvest  custom,  and  in  the  expectation  of  the  return 
of  the  spirit  in  the  coming  spring^. 

C.     THE  STAGES  ABOVE  WODEN  IN  THE  WEST-SAXON 
GENEALOGY 

The  problems  to  which  this  pedigree  gives  rise  are  very 
numerous,  and  some  have  been  discussed  above.  There  are 
four  which  seem  to  need  further  discussion. 

(I)  A  "Sceafa"  occurs  in  Widsith  as  ruling  over  the 
Longobards.  Of  course  we  cannot  be  certain  that  this  hero  is 
identical  with  the  Sceaf  of  the  genealogy.  Now  there  is  no  one 
in  the  long  list  of  historic  or  semi- historic  Longobard  kings, 
ruling  after  the  tribe  had  left  Scandinavia,  who  bears  a  name 
at  all  similar.  It  seems  therefore  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
Sceafa,  if  he  is  a  genuine  Longobard  king  at  all,  belongs  to  the 
primitive  times  when  the  Longobardi  or  Winnili  dwelt  in 
*'Scadan,"  before  the  historic  or  semi-historic  times  with  which 
our  extant  list  deals.  And  Old  English  accounts,  although 
making  Sceaf  an  ancestor  of  the  Saxon  kings,  are  unanimous  in 
connecting  him  with  Scani  or  Scandza. 

Some  scholars^  have  seen  a  serious  difficulty  in  the  weak 

form  "Sceafa,"  as  compared  with  "Sceaf."     But  we  have  the 

exactly  parallel  cases  of  Horsa^  compared  with  Hors^,  and 

HrMla^  compared  with  Hr^deP,  Hre&el.    Parallel,  but   not 

quite  so  certain,  are  Sceldwa^  and  ScyW,  Geata^^  and  Geat^'^, 

Beowa^^  and  Beaw,  Beo(wy^. 

1  Engl.  Stud,  lii,  177.  «  Heltedigtning,  ii,  255.     See  above,  pp.  81-7. 

'  Binz  in  P.B.B.  xx,  148;  Chadwick,  Origiriy  282.     So  Clarke,  Sidelights, 
128.     Cf.  Heusler  in  A.f.d.  A.  xxx,  31. 

•  A.-S.  Chronicle.  6  Historia  Brittonum. 

•  "hraedlan"  (gen.),  Beowulf,  464.  '  "hrsedles,"  Beoumlf,  1485. 

•  ^.--S'.  Chronicle.  »  Beotvulf,  Ethelwerd. 

10  Geata,  Geta,  Historia  Brittonum;  Asser;  MS  Cott.  Tib.  A.  VI;  Textus 
Roffensia. 

"  A.-S.  Chronicle.        "  Charter  of  931.  "  A.-S.  Chronicle,  Ethelwerd. 


312    The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy 

I  do  not  think  it  has  ever  been  doubted  that  the  forms  Hors 
and  Horsa,  or  Hre&el  and  Hrmdla,  relate  to  one  and  the  same 
person.  Prof.  Chadwick  seems  to  have  little  or  no  doubt  as  to 
the  identity  of  Scyld  and  Sceldwa^,  or  Beo  and  Beowa^.  Why- 
then  should  the  identity  of  Sceaf  and  Sceafa  be  denied  because 
one  form  is  strong  and  the  other  weak^?  We  cannot  demon- 
strate the  identity  of  the  figure  in  the  genealogies  with  the 
figure  in  Widsith;  but  little  difficulty  is  occasioned  by  the  weak 
form. 

(II)  Secondly,  the  absence  of  the  name  Sceaf  from  the 
oldest  MS  of  the  Chronicle  (the  Parker  MS,  C.C.C.C.  173)  has 
been  made  the  ground  for  suggesting  that  when  that  MS  was 
written  (c.  892)  Sceaf  had  not  yet  been  invented  (MoUer, 
Volksepos,  43;  Symons  in  Pauls  Grdr.  (2),  iii,  645;  Napier,  as 
quoted  by  Clarke,  Sidelights,  125),  But  Sceaf,  and  the  other 
names  which  are  omitted  from  the  Parker  MS,  are  found  in  the 
other  MSS  of  the  Chronicle  and  the  allied  pedigrees,  which  are 
known  to  be  derived  independently  from  one  and  the  same 
original.  Now,  unless  the  names  were  older  than  the  Parker  MS, 
they  could  not  appear  in  so  many  independent  transcripts. 
For,  even  though  these  transcripts  are  individually  later,  their 
agreement  takes  us  back  to  a  period  earlier  than  that  of  the 
Parker  MS  itself*. 

An  examination  of  the  different  versions  of  the  genealogy, 
given  on  pp.  202-3,  above,  and  of  the  tree  showing  the  con- 
nection between  them,  on  p.  315,  will,  I  think,  make  this  clear. 

The  versions  of  the  pedigree  given  in  the  Parker  MS  of 
the  Chronicle,  in  Asser  and  in  Textus  Roffensis  7,  all  contain 
the  stages  Fripuwald  and  FriJ?uwulf.  Asser  and  Roff.  I  are 
connected  by  the  note  about  Geata:  but  Roff.  I  is  not  derived 
from  that  text  of  Asser  which  has  come  down  to  us,  as  that 

1  Origin,  273.  2  Origin,  282. 

'  Some  O.H.G.  parallels  will  be  found  in  Z.f.d.A.  xii,  260.  The  weak 
form  Geata,  Mr  Stevenson  argues,  is  due  to  Asser' s  attempt  to  reconcile  the 
form  Geat  with  the  Latin  Geta  with  which  he  identifies  it  (Asser,  pp.  160-161). 
See  also  Chadwick,  Heroic  Age,  124  footnote.  Yet  we  get  Geata  in  one  text  of 
the  Chronicle,  and  in  other  documents. 

*  This  is  the  view  taken  by  Plummer,  who  does  not  seem  to  regard  any 
solution  as  possible  other  than  that  the  names  are  missing  from  the  Parker  MS 
by  a  transcriber's  slip  (see  Two  Saxon  Chronicles  Parallel,  11,  p.  xciv). 


Relationship  of  the  Manuscripts  313 

text  has  corrupted  Fin  and  Godwulf  into  one  name  and 
has  substituted  Seth  for  Sceaf  ["Seth,  Saxonice  Sceaf": 
Florence  of  Worcester].  Roff.  I  is  free  from  both  these 
corruptions. 

Ethelwerd  is  obviously  connected  with  a  type  of  genealogy 
giving  the  stages  Fripuwald  and  Frij^uwulf,  but  differs  from  all 
the  others  in  giving  no  stages  between  Scyld  and  Scef. 

None  of  the  other  versions  contain  the  names  Fripuwald  and 
Fripuwulf.  They  are  closely  parallel,  but  fall  into  groups 
showing  special  peculiarities. 

MSS  Tib.  A.  VI  and  Tib.  B.  I  of  the  Chronicle  show  only 
trifling  differences  of  spelling.  The  MSS  belong  respectively 
to  about  the  years  1000  and  1050,  and  are  both  derived  from 
an  Abingdon  original  of  about  977^. 

MS  Cott.  Tib.  B.  IV  is  derived  from  a  copy  of  the  Chronicle 
sent  North  about  892^. 

MS  Cott.  Tib.  B.  V  and  Textus  Roffensis  II  are  closely 
connected,  but  neither  is  derived  from  the  other.  For  Roff.  II 
preserves  Tepwa  and  Hwdla,  who  are  lost  in  Tib.  B.  V;  Tib.  B.  V 
preserves  Iterman,  who  is  corrupted  in  Roff.  II.  Both  Tib.  B.  V 
and  Roff.  II  carry  the  pedigree  down  to  Edgar,  mentioning 
his  three  sons  Sadweard  and  Eadmund  and  JEpelred  ae&elingas 
syndon  Eadgdres  suna  cyninges.  The  original  therefore  appa- 
rently belongs  to  some  date  before  970,  when  Edmund  died 
(cf.  Stevenson's  Asser,  158,  note). 

Common  features  of  MS  Cott.  Tib.  B,  V  and  Roff.  II  are 
(1)  Eat(a)  for  Geat{a),  (2)  the  omission  of  d  from  Scealdwa,  and 
(3)  the  expression  se  Scef,  "this  Scef."  Features  (1)  and  (3) 
are  copied  in  the  Icelandic  pedigrees.  Scealdwa  is  given  cor- 
rectly there,  but  the  Icelandic  transcriber  could  easily  have  got 
it  from  Scealdwaging  above.  The  Icelandic  was,  then,  ulti- 
mately derived  either  from  Tib.  B.  V  or  from  a  version  so 
closely  connected  as  not  to  be  worth  distinguishing. 

Accordingly  Cott.  Tib.  B.  F,  Textus  Roffensis  II,  Lang- 
Je&gatal  and  Flateyarbok  from  one  group,  pointing  to  an  arche- 
type c.  970. 

^  Plummer,  ii,  pp.  xxix,  xxxi,  Ixxxix. 

*  Plummer,  ir,  p.  Ixxi.     Note  Beowi  for  Bedwig. 


314    The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy^ 

The  pedigrees  can  accordingly  be  grouped  on  the  system 
shown  on  the  opposite  page^. 

(Ill)  Prof.  Chadwick,  in  his  Origin  of  the  English  Nation^ 
draws  wide  deductions  from  the  fact  that  the  Danes  traced  the 
pedigree  of  their  kings  back  to  Skjold,  whilst  the  West-Saxons 
included  Sceldwa  (Scyld)  in  their  royal  pedigree: 

"Since  the  Angli  and  the  Danes  claimed  descent  from  the  same 
ancestor,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  bond  was  beUeved  to  be  one 
c;f  blood2." 

This  belief,  Prof.  Chadwick  thinks,  went  back  to  exceedingly 
early  times^,  and  he  regards  it  as  well-founded : 

"It  is  true  that  the  Angli  of  Britain  seem  never  to  have  included 
themselves  among  the  Danes,  but  the  reason  for  this  may  be  that 
the  term  Dene  (Danir)  had  not  come  into  use  as  a  collective  term, 
before  the  invasion  of  Britain*." 

Doubtless  the  fact  that  the  name  of  a  Danish  king  Scyld 
or  Sceldwa  is  found  in  a  pedigree  of  West-Saxon  kings,  as  drawn 
up  at  a  period  certainly  not  later  than  892,  points  to  a  belief, 
at  that  date,  in  some  kind  of  a  connection.  But  we  have  still 
to  ask:  How  close  was  the  connection  supposed  to  be?  And 
how  old  is  the  belief? 

Firstly  as  to  the  closeness  of  the  connection.  Finn  also 
occurs  in  the  pedigree — possibly  the  Frisian  king :  Sceaf  occurs,, 
possibly,  though  not  certainly,  a  Longobard  king.  Noah  and 
Adam  occur ;  are  we  therefore  to  suppose  that  the  compiler  of 
the  Genealogy  believed  his  kings  to  be  of  one  blood  with  the 
Hebrews?  Certainly  he  did:  but  only  remotely,  as  common 
descendants  of  Noah.  And  the  occurrence  of  Sceldwa  and 
Sceaf  and  Finn  in  the  genealogies — granting  the  identity  of 
these  heroes  with  Skjold  of  the  Danes,  Sceaf  a  of  the  Longobards 
and  Finn  of  the  Frisians,  might  only  prove  that  the  genealogist 
believed  in  their  common  (Germanic)  race. 

Secondly,  how  old  is  the  belief?  The  Anglian  genealogies 
(Northumbrian,  Mercian  and  East  Anglian),  as  reproduced  in 

^  This  table  shows  the  relationship  of  the  genealogies  only,  not  of  the 
whole  MSs,  of  which  the  genealogies  form  but  a  small  part.  MS-relationshipa 
are  always  liable  to  fluctuation,  as  we  pass  from  one  part  of  a  MS  to  another, 
and  for  obvious  reasons  this  is  pecuharly  the  case  with  the  Chronicle  MSS. 

2  Origin,  296.  »  Origin,  292.  *  Origin,  296. 


Relationship  of  the  Manuscripts 


315 


to 

o 

A^ 

3S 

■*:>  r-l 

to 

«»-< 

Ol 

,<1^     . 

H  o 

CI4  a>  >-^ 

S  o  o  §  ^  > 
H  O  ?  ©  S  "TJ 


316    The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy 

the  Historia  Brittonum  and  in  the  Vespasian  MS,  form  part 
of  what  is  doubtless,  as  is  said  above,  the  oldest  extant  English 
historical  document.  But  in  this  document  there  is  no  mention 
of  Scyld.  Indeed,  it  contains  no  pedigree  of  the  West-Saxon 
kings  at  all.  From  whatever  cause,  the  West-Saxon  genealogy 
is  not  extant  from  so  early  a  date  as  are  the  pedigrees  of  the 
Northumbrian,  Mercian,  East  Anglian  and  Kentish  kings^.  Still, 
this  may  well  be  a  mere  accident,  and  I  am  not  prepared  to 
dispute  that  the  pedigree  which  traces  the  West-Saxon  kings 
to  Woden  dates  back,  like  the  other  genealogies  connecting 
Old  English  kings  with  Woden,  to  primitive  and  heathen  times. 
Now  the  West-Saxon  pedigree  is  found  in  many  forms :  some 
which  trace  the  royal  house  only  to  Woden,  and  some  which  go 
beyond  Woden  and  contain  a  list  of  names  by  which  Woden 
is  connected  with  Sceaf,  and  then  with  Noah  and  Adam. 

(1)  The  nucleus  of  the  whole  pedigree  is  to  be  found  in  the 
names  between  Cynric  or  Cerdic  and  Woden.  These  occur  in 
every  version.  The  pedigree  in  this,  its  simplest  form,  is  found 
twice  among  the  entries  in  the  Chronicle  which  deal  with  the 
events  of  heathen  times,  under  552  and  597.  These  names  fall 
into  verse : 

[Gynric  Gerdicing],  Gerdic  Elesing, 

Elesa  Esling,  Esla  GiWising, 

GiWis  Wiging,  Wig  Freawining, 

Freawine  FriSugaring,  FriSugar  Bronding, 

Brond  Bseldseging,  Bseldseg  Wodening. 

Like  the  mnemonic  lists  in  Widsith,  these  lines  are  probably 
very  old.  Their  object  is  clearly  to  connect  the  founder  of  the 
West-Saxon  royal  house  with  Woden.  Note,  that  not  only  do 
the  names  alliterate,  but  the  alliteration  is  perfect.  Every  line 
attains  double  alliteration  in  the  first  half,  with  one  alliterating 
word  only  in  the  second  half.  The  lines  must  go  back  to  times 
when  lists  of  royal  ancestors,  both  real  and  imaginary,  had  to 

^  The  absence  of  the  West-Saxon  pedigree  may  be  due  to  the  document 
from  which  the  Historia  Brittonum  and  the  Vespasian  MS  derive  these  pedigrees 
having  been  drawn  up  in  the  North :  Wessex  may  have  been  outside  the  purview 
of  its  compiler;  though  against  this  is  the  fact  that  it  contains  the  Kentish 
pedigree.  But  another  quite  possible  explanation  is,  that  Cerdic,  -v^ith  his  odd 
name,  was  not  of  the  right  royal  race,  but  an  adventurer,  and  that  it  was  only 
later  that  a  pedigree  was  made  up  for  his  descendants,  on  the  analogy  of  those 
possessed  by  the  more  blue-blooded  monarchs  of  Mercia  and  Northumbria. 


Various  expansions  of  the  original  pedigree        317 

be  arranged  in  correct  verse;  times  when  such  things  were 
recorded  by  memory  rather  than  by  writing.  They  are  pre- 
literary,  and  were  doubtless  chanted  by  retainers  of  the  West- 
Saxon  kings  in  heathen  days. 

(2)  An  expanded  form  of  this  genealogy  occurs  in  MSS 
CC.C.C.  183  and  Cotton  Tib.  B.  V.  Woden  is  here  furnished 
with  a  father  Frealaf .  We  know  nothing  of  any  Frealaf  as  father 
of  the  All-Father  in  heathen  days,  though  Frealaf  is  found  in 
this  capacity  in  other  genealogies  written  down  in  the  ages  after 
the  conversion.  Frealaf  breaks  the  correct  alUterative  system. 
In  both  MSS  the  pedigree  is  brought  down  to  King  Ine  (688- 
726):  both  mss  are  ultimately,  no  doubt,  derived  from  a  list 
current  in  the  time  of  that  king,  that  is  to  say  less  than  a  century 
after  the  conversion  of  Wessex. 

(3)  A  further  expansion,  which  Prof.  Napier  has  held  on 
linguistic  grounds^  to  have  been  written  down  as  early  as  750, 
is  incorporated  in  a  genealogical  and  chronological  note  regarding 
the  West-Saxon  kings,  which  is  extant  in  many  Mss^.  In  its 
present  form  this  genealogical  note  is  a  recension,  under  Alfred, 
of  a  document  coming  down  to  the  death  of  his  father  iEthelwulf . 
It  traces  the  pedigree  of  ^thelwulf  to  Cerdic,  but  it  keeps  this 
district  from  the  rhythmical  nucleus,  in  which  it  traces  Cerdic 
to  Woden,  and  no  further. 

(4)  Then,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle^  under  the  year  855, 
the  pedigree  is  given  in  its  most  elaborate  form.  There  the 
genealogy  of  ^Ethelwulf  is  traced  in  one  unbroken  series,  not 
merely  through  Cerdic  to  Woden,  but  from  Woden  through  a 
long  line  of  Woden's  ancestors,  including  Frealaf,  Geat,  Sceldwa 
and  Sceaf,  to  Noah  and  Adam. 

It  has  been  noted  above^  that  none  of  the  Chronicle  pedigrees 

1  See  M.L.N.  1897,  xn,  110-11. 

*  It  is  prefixed  to  the  Parker  MS  of  the  Chronicle,  and  is  found  also  in  the 
Cambridge  ms  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Bede  {Univ.  Lib.  Kk.  3.  18)  printed  in 
Miller's  edition;  in  MS  Cott.  Tib.  A.  Ill,  178  (printed  in  Thorpe's  Chronicle)-. 
and  in  MS  Add.  34652,  printed  by  Napier  in  M.L.N.  1897,  xii,  106  etc. 
There  are  uncollated  copies  in  MS  G.C.C.C.  383,  fol.  107,  and  according  to 
Liebermann  (Herrig's  Archiv,  crv,  23)  in  the  Textus  Roffensis,  fol.  7  b.  There  is 
also  a  fragment,  which  does  not  however  include  the  portion  under  consideration, 
in  MS  Add.  23211  {Brit.  Mus.)  printed  in  Sweet's  Oldest  English  Texts,  p.  179. 
The  statement,  sometimes  made,  that  there  is  a  copy  in  MS  CC.C.C.  41, 
rests  on  an  error  of  Whelock,  who  was  really  referring  to  the  Parker  MS  of  the 
Chronicle  {CC.C.C.  173).  3  p_  73^ 


318    The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy 

stop  at  Sceaf.  The  Chronicle^  in  the  stages  above  Woden, 
recognizes  as  stopping  places  only  Geat  (Northumbrian  pedigree, 
anno  547)  or  Adam  (West-Saxon  pedigree,  anno  855). 

(5)  The  Chronicle  of  Ethelwerd  (c.  1000)  does,  however,  stop 
at  Scef^.  Now  it  has  been  argued  that  Ethelwerd' s  pedigree  is 
merely  abbreviated  from  the  pedigree  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle  under  855,  and  that,  in  making  Scef  the  final  stage, 
and  in  what  he  tells  us  about  that  hero,  Ethelwerd  is  merely 
adapting  what  he  had  read  in  Beowulf  about  Scyld^.  But  this 
seems  hardly  possible.  Ethelwerd,  it  is  true,  borrows  most  of 
his  facts  from  the  Chronicle^  from  Bede,  and  other  known 
sources:  but  there  are  some  passages  which  show  that  he  had 
access  to  a  source  now  lost.  Ethelwerd  was  a  member  of  the 
West-Saxon  royal  house,  and  he  wrote  his  Chronicle  for  a  kins- 
woman, Matilda,  in  order,  as  he  says,  to  explain  their  common 
stock  and  race.  They  were  both  descended  from  iEthelwulf,  the 
chronicler  being  great-great-grandson  of  iEthelred,  and  the  lady 
to  whom  he  dedicates  his  work  being  great-great-granddaughter 
of  Alfred.  So  he  writes  to  tell  "who  and  whence  were  their  kin, 
so  far  as  memory  adduces,  and  our  parents  have  taught  us." 
Accordingly,  though  he  begins  his  Chronicle  with  the  Creation, 
the  bulk  of  it  is  devoted  to  the  deeds  of  his  or  Matilda's  ancestors. 
Is  it  credible  that  he  would  have  cut  out  all  the  stages  in  their 
common  pedigree  between  Scyld  and  Scef,  that  he  would  have 
sacrificed  all  the  ancestors  of  Scef,  thus  severing  relations  with 
Noah  and  Adam,  and  that  he  would  have  attributed  to  Scef  the 
story  which  in  Beowulf  is  attributed  to  Scyld,  all  this  simply  in 
order  to  bring  his  English  pedigree  into  some  harmony  with 
what  is  told  about  the  Danish  pedigree  in  Beowulf— 2k  poem  of 
which  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  had  ever  heard? 

To  suppose  him  to  have  done  this,  is  to  make  him  sacrifice, 
without  any  reason,  just  that  part  of  the  pedigree  in  the  Chronicle 
under  855  which,  from  all  we  know  of  Ethelwerd,  was  most 
likely  to  have  interested  him:  that  which  connected  his  race 
with  Noah  and  Adam.  Further,  it  is  to  suppose  him  to  have 
reproduced  just  those  stages  in  the  pedigree  which  on  critical 

1  See  above,  p.  70. 

2  Brandl  in  Herrig's  Archive  cxxxvii,  12-13. 


Are  the  stages  above  Woden  original  ?  319 

grounds  modern  scholars  can  show  to  be  the  oldest,  and  to  have 
modij&ed  or  rejected  just  those  which  on  critical  grounds  modern 
scholars  can  show  to  be  later  accretion.  When  Brandl  supposes 
Ethelwerd  to  have  produced  his  pedigree  by  comparing  together 
merely  the  materials  which  have  come  down  to  us  to-day, 
namely  Beowulf  and  the  Chronicle,  he  is,  in  reality,  attributing 
to  him  the  mind  and  acumen  of  a  modern  critic.  An  Anglo- 
Saxon  alderman  could  only  have  detected  and  rejected  the 
additions  by  using  some  material  which  has  not  come  down  to 
us.  What  more  natural  than  that  Ethelwerd,  who  writes  as  the 
historian  of  the  West-Saxon  royal  family,  should  have  known 
of  a  family  pedigree  which  traced  the  line  up  to  Sceaf  and  his 
arrival  in  the  boat,  and  that  he  should  have  (rightly)  thought 
this  to  be  more  authoritative  than  the  pedigree  in  the  Chronicle 
under  the  year  855,  which  had  been  expanded  from  it?  Prof. 
Chad  wick,  it  seems  to  me,  is  here  quite  justified  in  holding  that 
Ethelwerd  had  "acquired  the  genealogy  from  some  unknown 
source,  in  a  more  primitive  form  than  that  contained  in  the 
Chronicle^  y 

But,  because  the  source  of  Ethelwerd's  pedigree  is  more 
primitive  than  that  contained  in  the  Chronicle  under  the  year 
855,  it  does  not  follow  that  it  goes  back  to  heathen  times. 
Wessex  had  been  converted  more  than  two  centuries  earlier. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  make  some  estimate  of  the 
antiquity  of  Scyld  and  Sceaf  in  the  West-Saxon  pedigree.  The 
nucleus  of  this  pedigree  is  to  be  found  in  the  verses  connecting 
€ynric  and  Cerdic  with  Woden.  (Even  as  late  as  iEthelwulf  and 
Alfred  this  nucleus  is  often  kept  distinct  from  the  later,  more 
historic  stages  connecting  Cerdic  with  living  men.)  Pedigrees  of 
other  royal  houses  go  to  Woden,  and  many  stop  there ;  however, 
in  times  comparatively  early,  but  yet  Christian,  we  find  Woden 
provided  with  five  ancestors:  later,  Ethelwerd  gives  him  ten: 
the  Chronicle  gives  him  twenty-five.  It  is  evidently  a  process  of 
accumulation. 

Now,  if  the  name  of  Scyld  had  occurred  in  the  portion  of 
the  pedigree  which  traces  the  West-Saxon  kings  up  to  Woden, 

*  Ongin,  p.  272. 


320    The  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy 

it  would  possess  sufficient  authority  to  form  the  basis  of  an 
argument.  But  Scyld,  like  Heremod,  Beaw  and  Sceaf,  occurs. 
^^  in  the  fantastic  development  of  the  pedigree,  by  which  Woden, 
is  connected  up  with  Adam  and  Noah.  The  fact  that  these 
heroes  occur  above  Woden  makes  it  almost  incredible  that  their 
position  in  the  pedigree  can  go  back  to  heathen  times.  Those 
who  believed  in  Woden  as  a  god  can  hardly  have  believed  at 
the  same  time  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  the  Danish  king 
Scyld.  This  difficulty  Prof.  Chad  wick  admits:  "It  is  difficult 
to  believe  that  in  heathen  times  Woden  was  credited  with  five 
generations  of  ancestors,  as  in  the  Frealaf-Geat  list."  Still 
less  is  it  credible  that  he  was  credited  with  25  generations  of 
ancestors,  as  in  the  Frealaf-Geat-Sceldwa-Sceaf-Noe-Adam  list. 

The  obvious  conclusion  seems  to  me  to  be  that  the  names 
above  Woden  were  added  in  Christian  times  to  the  original 
list,  which  in  heathen  times  only  went  back  to  Woden,  and 
which  is  still  extant  in  this  form,  A  Christian,  rationalizing 
Woden  as  a  human  magician,  would  have  no  difficulty  in  placing 
him  far  down  the  ages,  just  as  Saxo  Grammaticus  does^.  Ob- 
viously Noe-Adam  must  be  an  addition  of  Christian  times,  and 
the  same  seems  to  me  to  apply  to  all  the  other  names  above 
Woden,  which,  though  ancient  and  Germanic,  are  not  therefore 
ancient  and  Germanic  in  the  capacity  of  ancestors  of  Woden. 

And  even  if  these  extraordinary  ancestors  of  Woden  were 
really  believed  in  in  heathen  times,  they  cannot  have  been 
regarded  as  the  special  property  of  any  one  nation.  For  it 
was  never  claimed  that  the  West-Saxon  kings  had  any  unique 
distinction  in  tracing  their  ancestry  to  Woden,  such  as  would 
give  them  a  special  claim  upon  Woden's  forefathers.  How  then 
can  the  ancient  belief  (if  indeed  it  were  an  ancient  belief)  that 
Woden  was  descended  from  Scyld,  King  of  Denmark,  prove  that 
the  Anglo-Saxons  regarded  themselves  as  specially  related  to  the 
Danes?  For  any  such  relationship  derived  through  Woden 
must  have  been  shared  by  all  descendants  of  the  All-Father. 

Prof.  Chadwick  avoids  this  difficulty  by  supposing  that 
Woden  did  not  originally  occur  in  the  pedigree,  but  is  a  later 

^  So  Ethelwerd  {Lib.  i)  sees  in  Woden  a  rex  multitudinis  Barharorum,  in 
error  deified.  It  is  the  usual  point  of  view,  and  persists  down  to  Carlyle  {Heroes) . 


Are  the  stages  above  Woden  original?  321 

insertion^.  But  how  can  this  be  so  when,  of  the  two  forms  in 
which  the  West-Saxon  pedigree  appears,  one  (and,  so  far  as 
our  evidence  goes,  much  the  older  one)  traces  the  kings  to 
Woden  and  stops  there.  The  object  of  this  pedigree  is  to  connect 
the  West-Saxon  kings  with  Woden.  The  expanded  pedigrees, 
which  carry  on  the  line  still  further,  from  Woden  to  Sceldwa, 
Sceaf  and  Adam,  though  very  numerous,  are  all  traceable  to 
one,  or  at  most  two,  sources.  It  is  surely  not  the  right  method 
to  regard  Woden  as  an  interpolation  (though  he  occurs  in  that 
portion  of  the  pedigree  which  is  common  to  all  versions,  some 
of  which  we  can  probably  trace  back  to  primitive  times),  and 
to  regard  as  the  original  element  Scyld  and  Sceaf  (though  they 
form  part  of  the  continuation  of  the  pedigree  found  only  in, 
at  most,  two  families  of  mss  which  we  cannot  trace  back 
beyond  the  ninth  century). 

Besides,  there  is  the  strongest  external  support  for  Woden 
in  the  very  place  which  he  occupies  in  the  West-Saxon  pedigree. 
That  pedigree  is  traced  in  all  its  texts  up  to  one  Baldaeg  and  his 
father  Woden.  Those  texts  which  further  give  Woden's  an- 
cestry make  him  a  descendant  of  Frealaf — they  generally  make 
Woden  son  of  Frealaf,  though  some  texts  insert  an  intermediate 
Frithuwald. 

Now  the  very  ancient  Northumbrian  pedigree  also  goes  up, 
by  a  different  route,  to  "Beldseg,"  and  gives  him  Woden  for 
a  father.  In  some  versions  (e.g.  the  Historia  Brittonum)  the 
Northumbrian  pedigree  stops  there:  in  others  (e.g.  the  Vespasian 
MS)  Woden  has  a  father  Frealaf.  How  then  can  it  be  argued^ 
contrary  to  the  unanimous  evidence  of  all  the  dozen  or  more 
MSS  of  the  West-Saxon  pedigree,  that  Woden,  standing  as  he 
does  between  his  proper  father  and  his  proper  son,  is  an  inter- 
polation? There  is  no  evidence  whatsoever  to  support  such  an 
argument,  and  everything  to  disprove  it. 

The  fact  that  Sceaf,  Sceldwa  and  Beaw  occur  above  Woden, 
that  some  versions  of  the  pedigree  stop  at  Woden,  and  that  in 
heathen  times  presumably  all  must  have  stopped  when  they 
reached  the  All-Father,  seems  to  me  a  fatal  argument — not 
against  the  antiquity  of  the  legends  of  Sceaf,  Sceldwa,  and 

1  Origin,  p.  293. 
C.  B.  21 


322    TJie  Stages  above  Woden  in  the  West-Saxon  Genealogy 

Beaw,  but  against  the  antiquity  of  these  characters  in  the 
capacity  (given  to  them  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle)  of  an- 
cestors of  the  West-Saxon  kings,  and  against  the  vast  deduction 
concerning  the  origin  of  the  English  nation  which  Prof.  Chadwick 
draws  from  this  supposed  antiquity. 

(IV)  Precisely  the  same  argument — that  Sceaf ,  Sceldwa  and 
Beaw  are  found  above  Woden  in  the  pedigree  of  the  English 
kings,  and  are  not  likely  to  have  occupied  that  place  in  primitive 
heathen  times,  is  fatal  to  the  attempt  to  draw  from  this  pedigree 
any  argument  that  the  myths  of  these  heroes  were  specially  and 
exclusively  Anglo-Saxon.  The  argument  of  Miillenhoff  and 
other  scholars  for  an  ancient,  purely  Anglo-Saxon  Beowa-myth^ 
falls,  therefore,  to  the  ground. 

D.     EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  DATE  OF  BEOWULF.     THE 
RELATION  OF  BEOWULF  TO  THE  CLASSICAL  EPIC 

A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  tendency  to  exaggerate  the 
value  of  grammatical  forms  in  fixing  the  date  of  Old  English 
poetry,  and  attempts  were  made  to  arrange  Old  English  poems 
in  a  chronological  series,  according  to  the  exact  percentage  of 
"early"  to  "late"  forms  in  each.  There  has  now  been  a 
natural  reaction  against  the  assumption  that,  granting  certain 
forms  to  be  archaic,  these  would  necessarily  be  found  in  a  per- 
centage diminishing  exactly  according  to  the  dates  of  compo- 
sition of  the  various  poems  in  which  they  occur.  The  reaction 
has  now  gone  to  the  other  extreme,  and  grammatical  facts  are 
in  danger  of  being  regarded  as  not  being  "in  any  way  valid 
or  helpful  indications  of  dates^." 

Schlicking^,  in  an  elaborate  recent  monograph  on  the  date 
of  Beowulf,  rejects  the  grammatical  evidence  as  valueless,  and 
proceeds  to  date  the  poem  about  two  centuries  later  than  has 
usually  been  held,  placing  its  composition  at  the  court  of  some 
christianized  Scandinavian  monarch  in  England,  about  900  a.d. 

1  Beowulf,  p.  5.     For  a  further  examination  of  this  "  Beowa-myth "  see 
Appendix  A,  above. 

2  Cf.  Tupper  in  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxvi,  275. 

3  P.B.B.   XLii,   347-410.     A  theory  as  to  the  date  of  Beowulf,  in  some 
respects  similar,  was  put  forward  by  Mone  in  1836 :  Untersuchungen  zur  GeschicfUem 
der  teutschen  Heldensage,  p.  132.  ml 


Schiiching  on  the  date  o/ Beowulf  323 

But  it  surely  does  not  follow  that,  because  grammatical  data 
have  been  misused,  therefore  no  use  can  be  made  of  them. 
And,  if  Beowulf  was  composed  about  the  year  900,  from  stories 
current  among  the  Viking  settlers,  how  are  we  to  account  for 
the  fact  that  the  proper  names  in  Beowulf  are  given,  not  in  the 
Scandinavian  forms  of  the  Viking  age,  nor  in  corruptions  of  such 
forms,  but  in  the  correct  English  forms  which  we  should  expect, 
according  to  English  sound  laws,  if  the  names  had  been  brought 
over  in  the  sixth  century,  and  handed  down  traditionally i? 

For  example.  King  Hygelac  no  doubt  called  himself  Hugi- 
laikaz.  The  Chochilaicus  of  Gregory  of  Tours  is  a  good — ^if 
uncouth — shot  at  reproducing  this  name.  The  name  became,  in 
Norse,  Hitgleikr  and  in  Danish  Huglek  (Hugletus  in  Saxo): 
traditional  kings  so  named  are  recorded,  though  it  is  difficult  to 
find  that  they  have  anything  in  common  with  the  King  Hygelac 
in  Beowulf^.  Had  the  name  been  introduced  into  England  in 
Viking  times,  we  should  expect  the  Scandinavian  form,  not 
Hygelac^. 

Even  in  the  rare  cases  where  the  character  in  Beowulf  and 
his  Scandinavian  equivalent  bear  names  which  are  not  phono- 
logically  identical,  the  difference  does  not  point  to  any  corrup- 
tion such  as  might  have  arisen  from  borrowing  in  Viking  days*. 
We  have  only  to  contrast  the  way  in  which  the  names  of  Viking 
chiefs  are  recorded  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  to  be  convinced 
that  the  Scandinavian  stories  recorded  in  Beowulf  are  due  to 
contact  during  the  age  when  Britain  was  being  conquered,  not 
during  the  Viking  period  three  or  four  centuries  later  ^. 

And  the  arguments  from  literary  and  political  history,  which 
Schiicking  adduces  to  prove  his  late  date,  seem  to  me  to  point 
in  exactly  the  opposite  direction,  and  to  confirm  the  orthodox 
view  which  would  place  Beowulf  nearer  700  than  900. 

1  See  above,  p.  103;  and  Brandl  in  Pauls  Ordr.  (2)  n,  1000,  where  the  argu- 
ment is  excellently  stated.  2  g^e  Olrik,  Sakses  Oldhistorie,  1894,  190-91. 

'  See  Bjorkman,  Eigennamen  im  Beoivulf,  77. 

*  Sarrazin's  attempt  to  prove  such  corruption  is  an  entire  failure.  Cf. 
Brandl  in  Herrig's  Archiv,  cxxvi,  234;  Bjorkman,  Eigennamen  im  Beowulf  58 
{Heaifo- Bear  dan). 

^  A  few  Geatic  adventurers  may  have  taken  part  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  invasion, 
as  has  been  argued  by  Moorman  {Essays  and  Studies,  v).  This  is  likely  enough  on 
a  priori  grounds,  though  many  of  the  etymologies  of  place-names  quoted  by 
Moorman  in  support  of  his  thesis  are  open  to  doubt. 

21—2 


324  Evidence  for  the  date  of  Beowulf 

Schiicking  urges  that,  however  highly  we  estimate  the 
civilizing  effect  of  Christianity,  it  was  only  in  the  second  half 
of  the  seventh  century  that  England  was  thoroughly  permeated 
by  the  new  faith.  Can  we  expect  already,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  century,  a  courtly  work,  showing,  as  does  Beowulf, 
such  wonderful  examples  of  tact,  modesty,  unselfishness  and 
magnanimity?  And  this  at  the  time  when  King  Ceolwulf  was 
forced  by  his  rebellious  subjects  to  take  the  cowl.  For 
Schiicking^,  following  Hodgkin^,  reminds  us  how,  in  the  eighth 
century,  out  of  15  Northumbrian  kings,  five  were  dethroned, 
five  murdered;  two  abdicated,  and  only  three  held  the  crown 
to  their  death;  and  how  at  the  end  of  the  century  Charlemagne 
called  the  Northumbrian  Angles  "a  perfidious  and  perverse 
nation,  murderers  of  their  lords." 

But  surely,  at  the  base  of  all  this  argument,  lies  the  same 
assumption  which,  as  Schiicking  rightly  holds,  vitiates  so  many 
of  the  grammatical  arguments;  the  assumption  that  develop- 
ment must  necessarily  be  in  steady  and  progressive  proportion. 
We  may  take  Penda  as  a  type  of  the  unreclaimed  heathen,  and 
Edward  the  Confessor  of  the  chaste  and  saintly  churchman; 
but  Anglo-Saxon  history  was  by  no  means  a  development  in 
steady  progression,  of  diminishing  percentages  of  ruffianism  and 
increasing  percentages  of  saintship. 

The  knowledge  of,  and  interest  in,  heathen  custom  shown 
in  Beowulf,  such  as  the  vivid  accounts  of  cremation,  would  lead 
us  to  place  it  as  near  heathen  times  as  other  data  will  allow. 
So  much  must  be  granted  to  the  argument  of  Prof.  Chadwick^ 
But  the  Christian  tone,  so  far  from  leading  us  to  place  Beowulf 
late,  would  also  lead  us  to  place  it  near  the  time  of  the  conversion. 
For  it  is  precisely  in  these  times  just  after  the  conversion,  that 
we  get  the  most  striking  instances  in  all  Old  English  history 
of  that  "tact,  modesty,  generosity,  and  magnanimity"  which 
Schiicking  rightly  regards  as  characteristic  of  Beowulf. 

King  Oswin  (who  was  slain  in  651)  was,  Bede  tells  us,  hand- 
some, courteous  of  speech  and  bearing,  bountiful  both  to  great 

1  P.B.B.  XLii,  366-7. 

2  History  of  England  to  the  Norman  Conquest,  i,  245. 

*  Heroic  Age,  52-6.     I  have  tried  to  show  (Appendix  F)  that  these  accounts 
of  cremation  are  not  so  archaeologically  correct  as  has  sometimes  been  claimed. 


TheAgeofBede  325 

and  lowly,  beloved  of  all  men  for  his  qualities  of  mind  and 
body,  so  that  noblemen  came  from  all  over  England  to  enter 
his  service — yet  of  all  his  endowments  gentleness  and  humility 
were  the  chief.  We  cannot  read  the  description  without  being 
reminded  of  the  words  of  the  thegns  in  praise  of  the  dead 
Beowulf.  Indeed,  I  doubt  if  Beowulf  would  have  carried 
gentleness  to  those  around  him  quite  so  far  as  did  Oswin.  For 
Oswin  had  given  to  Bishop  Aidan  an  exceptionally  fine  horse — 
and  Aidan  gave  it  to  a  beggar  who  asked  alms.  The  king's 
mild  suggestion  that  a  horse  of  less  value  would  have  been  good 
enough  for  the  beggar,  and  that  the  bishop  needed  a  good  horse 
for  his  own  use,  drew  from  the  saint  the  stern  question  "  Is  that 
son  of  a  mare  dearer  to  thee  than  the  Son  of  God?"  The 
king,  who  had  come  from  hunting,  stood  warming  himself  at 
the  fire,  thinking  over  what  had  passed ;  then  he  suddenly  ungirt 
his  sword,  gave  it  to  his  squire,  and  throwing  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  bishop,  promised  never  again  to  grudge  anything  he 
might  give  in  his  charities. 

Of  course  such  conduct  was  exceptional  in  seventh  century 
Northumbria — it  convinced  Aidan  that  the  king  was  too  good 
to  live  long,  as  indeed  proved  to  be  the  case.  But  it  shows  that 
the  ideals  of  courtesy  and  gentleness  shown  in  Beowulf  were  by 
no  means  beyond  the  possibility  of  attainment — were  indeed 
surpassed  by  a  seventh  century  king.  I  do  not  know  if  they 
could  be  so  easily  paralleled  in  later  Old  English  times. 

And  what  is  true  from  the  point  of  view  of  morals  is  true 
equally  from  that  of  art  and  learning.  In  spite  of  the  mis- 
fortunes of  Northumbrian  kings  in  the  eighth  century,  the  first 
third  of  that  century  was  "the  Golden  Age  of  Anglo-Saxon 
England^."  And  not  unnaturally,  for  it  had  been  preceded  by 
half  a  century  during  which  Northumbria  had  been  free  both 
from  internal  strife  and  from  invasion.  The  empire  won  by 
Oswiu  over  Picts  and  Scots  in  the  North  had  been  lost  at  the 
battle  of  Nectansmere:  but  that  battle  had  been  followed  by 
the  twenty  years  reign  of  the  learned  Aldf rid,  whose  scholarship 
did  not  prevent  him  from  nobly  retrieving  the  state  of  the 
kingdom^,  though  he  could  not  recover  the  lost  dominions. 

^  Oman,  England  before  the  Norman  Conquest,  319. 
«  Bede,  Hist.  Eccles.  iv,  26. 


326  Evidence  for  the  date  (>/' Beowulf 

Now,  whatever  we  may  think  of  Beowulf  as  poetry,  it  is 
remarkable  for  its  conscious  and  deliberate  art,  and  for  the 
tone  of  civilization  which  pervades  it.  And  this  half  century 
was  distinguished,  above  any  other  period  of  Old  English 
history,  precisely  for  its  art  and  its  civilization.  Four  and  a 
half  centuries  later,  when  the  works  of  great  Norman  master 
builders  were  rising  everywhere  in  the  land,  the  buildings  which 
Bishop  Wilfrid  had  put  up  during  this  first  period  of  conversion 
were  still  objects  of  admiration,  even  for  those  who  had  seen 
the  glories  of  the  great  Koman  basilicas^. 

Nor  is  there  anything  surprising  in  the  fact  that  this  "golden 
age  "  was  not  maintained.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  "  in  accordance 
with  the  phenomena  of  Saxon  history  in  general,  in  which 
seasons  of  brilliant  promise  are  succeeded  by  long  eras  of  national 
eclipse.  It  is  from  this  point  of  view  quite  in  accordance  with 
natural  likelihood  that  the  age  of  conversion  was  one  of  such 
stimulus  to  the  artistic  powers  of  the  people  that  a  level  of 
effort  and  achievement  was  reached  which  subsequent  genera- 
tions were  not  able  to  maintain.  The  carved  crosses  and  the 
coins  certainly  degenerate  in  artistic  value  as  the  centuries  pass 
away,  and  the  fine  barbaric  gold  and  encrusted  work  is  early 
in  date2." 

Already  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century  signs  of 
decay  are  to  be  observed.  At  the  end  of  his  Ecclesiastical 
History,  Bede  complains  that  the  times  are  so  full  of  disturbance 
that  one  knows  not  what  to  say,  or  what  the  end  will  be.  And 
these  fears  were  justified.  A  hundred  and  forty  years  of 
turmoil  and  decay  follow,  till  the  civilization  of  the  North  and 
the  Midlands  was  overthrown  by  the  Danes,  and  York  became 
the  uneasy  seat  of  a  heathen  jarl. 

How  it  should  be  possible  to  see  in  these  facts,  as  contrasted 
with  the  Christian  and  civilized  tone  of  Beowulf,  any  argument 
for  late  date,  I  cannot  see.  On  the  contrary,  because  of  its 
Christian  civilization  combined  with  its  still  vivid,  if  perhaps 
not  always  quite  exact,  recollection  of  heathen  customs,  we 
should  be  inclined  to  put  Beowulf  in  the  early  Christian  ages. 

^  "  Nunc  qui  Roma  veniunt  idem  allegant,  ut  qui  Haugustaldensera  f abricam 
vident  ambitionem  Romanam  se  imaginari  jurent."  William  of  Malmesbury, 
Qesta  Pontificum,  Rolls  Series,  p.  255. 

2  Baldwin  Brown,  The  Arts  in  Early  England,  ii,  1903,  p.  325. 


Scandinavian  sympathies  o/"  Beowulf  327 

A  further  argument  put  forward  for  this  late  date  is  the 
old  one  that  the  Scandinavian  sympathies  of  Beowulf  show  it 
to  have  been  composed  for  a  Scandinavian  court,  the  court, 
Schiicking  thinks,  of  one  of  the  princes  who  ruled  over  those 
portions  of  England  which  the  Danes  had  settled^.  Of  course 
Schiicking  is  too  sound  a  scholar  to  revive  at  this  time  of  day 
the  old  fallacy  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  ought  to  have  taken  no 
interest  in  the  deeds  of  any  but  Anglo-Saxon  heroes.  But  how, 
he  asks,  are  we  to  account  for  such  enthusiasm  for,  such  a 
burning  interest  in,  a  people  of  alien  dialect  and  foreign  dynasty, 
such  as  the  Scyldings  of  Denmark? 

The  answer  seems  to  me  to  be  that  the  enthusiasm  of 
Beowulf  is  not  for  the  Danish  nation  as  such :  on  the  contrary, 
Beowulf  depicts  a  situation  which  is  most  humiliating  to  the 
Danes.  For  twelve  years  they  have  suffered  the  depredations 
of  Grendel;  Hrothgar  and  his  kin  have  proved  helpless:  all  the 
Danes  have  been  unequal  to  the  need.  Twice  at  least  this  is 
emphasized  in  the  most  uncompromising,  and  indeed  insulting, 
way^.  The  poet's  enthusiasm  is  not,  then,  for  the  Danish  race 
as  such,  but  for  the  ideal  of  a  great  court  with  its  body  of 
retainers.  Such  retainers  are  not  necessarily  native  born — 
rather  is  it  the  mark  of  the  great  court  that  it  draws  men  from 
far  and  wide  to  enter  the  service,  whether  permanently  or 
temporarily,  even  as  Beowulf  came  from  afar  to  help  the  aged 
Hrothgar  in  his  need. 

It  is  this  ideal  of  personal  valour  and  personal  loyalty, 
rather  than  of  tribal  patriotism,  which  pervades  Beowulf,  and 
which  certainly  suits  the  known  facts  of  the  seventh  and  early 
eighth  centuries.  The  bitterest  strife  in  England  in  the  seventh 
century  had  been  between  the  two  quite  new  states  of  North- 
umbria  and  Mercia,  both  equally  of  Anglian  race.  Both  these 
states  had  been  built  up  by  a  combination  of  smaller  units,  and 
not  without  violating  the  old  local  patriotisms  of  the  diverse 
elements  from  which  they  had  been  formed.  At  first,  at  any 
rate,  no  such  thing  as  Northumbrian  or  Mercian  patriotism  can 
have  existed.  Loyalty  was  personal,  to  the  king.  Neither  the 
kingdom  nor  the  comitatus  was  homogeneous.     We  have  seen 

*  p.  407.  a  Beoumlf,  U.  201,  601-3. 


328  Evidence  for  the  date  0/ Beowulf 

that  Bede  mentions  it  as  a  peculiar  honour  to  a  Northumbrian 
prince  that  from  all  parts  of  England  nobles  came  to  enter  his 
service.  We  must  not  demand  from  the  seventh  or  eighth 
century  our  ideals  of  exclusive  enthusiasm  for  the  land  of  one's 
birth,  ideals  which  make  it  disreputable  for  a  "mercenary"  to 
sell  his  sword.  The  ideal  is,  on  the  contrary,  loyalty  to  a  prince 
whose  service  a  warrior  voluntarily  enters.  And  the  Danish 
court  is  depicted  as  a  pattern  of  such  loyalty — ^before  the 
Scyldings  began  to  work  evil^,  by  the  treason  of  Hrothulf. 

Further,  the  fact  that  the  Danish  court  at  Leire  had  been  a 
heathen  one  might  be  matter  for  regret,  but  it  would  not 
prevent  its  being  praised  by  an  Englishman  about  700.  For 
/  England  was  then  entirely  Christian.  In  the  process  of  con- 
version no  single  Christian  had,  so  far  as  we  know,  been  martyred. 
There  had  been  no  war  of  religion.  If  Penda  had  fought  against 
Oswald,  it  had  been  as  the  king  of  Mercia  against  the  king  of 
Northumbria.  Penda' s  allies  were  Christian,  and  he  showed 
no  antipathy  to  the  new  faith^.  So  that  at  this  date  there  was 
\  no  reason  for  men  to  feel  any  deep  hostility  towards  a  heathen- 
\  dom  which  had  been  the  faith  of  their  grandfathers,  and  with 
which  there  had  never  been  any  embittered  conflict. 

But  in  900  the  position  was  quite  different.  For  more  than 
a  generation  the  country  had  been  engaged  in  a  life-and-deatb 
struggle  between  two  warring  camps,  the  "  Christian  men  "  and 
the  "heathen  men."  The  "heathen  men"  were  in  process  of 
conversion,  but  were  liable  to  be  ever  recruited  afresh  from 
beyond  the  sea.  It  seems  highly  unlikely  that  Beowulf  could 
have  been  written  at  this  date,  by  some  English  poet,  for  the 
court  of  a  converted  Scandinavian  prince,  with  a  view  perhaps, 
as  Schiicking  suggests,  to  educating  his  children  in  the  English 
speech.  In  such  a  case  the  one  thing  likely  to  be  avoided  by 
the  English  poet,  with  more  than  two  centuries  of  Christianity 
behind  him,  would  surely  have  been  the  praise  of  that  Scan- 
dinavian heathendom,  from  which  his  patron  had  freed  himself, 
and  from  which  his  children  were  t o  b  e  weaned.  The  martyrdom 
of  S.  Edmund  might  have  seemed  a  more  appropriate  theme'. 

1  Cf.  Beomilf,  1.  1018.  2  Bede,  Eccles.  Hist,  m,  21. 

*  See  Oman,  pp.  460, 591,  for  the  honour  done  to  this  saint  by  converted  Danes. 


Learning  in  the  Age  of  Bede  329 

The  tolerant  attitude  towards  heathen  customs,  and  the  almost 
antiquarian  interest  in  them,  very  justly,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
emphasized  by  Schiicking^,  is  surely  far  more  possible  in  a.d.  700 
than  in  a.d.  900.  For  between  those  dates  heathendom  had 
ceased  to  be  an  antiquarian  curiosity,  and  had  become  an 
imminent  peril. 

If  those  are  right  who  hold  that  Beowulf  is  no  purely  native 
growth,  but  shows  influence  of  the  classical  epic,  then  again  it 
is  easier  to  credit  such  influence  about  the  year  700  than  900. 
At  the  earlier  date  we  have  scholars  like  Aldhelm  and  Bede, 
both  well  acquainted  with  Virgil,  yet  both  interested  in  verna- 
cular verse.  It  has  been  urged,  as  a  reductio  ad  absurdum  of 
the  view  which  would  connect  Beowulf  with  Virgil,  that  the 
relation  to  the  Odyssey  is  more  obvious  than  that  to  the  Mneid. 
Perhaps,  however,  some  remote  and  indirect  connection  even 
between  Beowulf  and  the  Odyssey  is  not  altogether  unthinkable, 
about  the  year  700.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh  century  there 
was  a  flourishing  school  of  Greek  learning  in  England,  under 
Hadrian  and  the  Greek  Archbishop  Theodore,  both  "well  read 
in  sacred  and  in  secular  literature."  In  730  their  scholars  were 
still  alive,  and,  Bede  tells  us,  could  speak  Greek  and  Latin  as 
correctly  as  their  native  tongue.  Bede  himself  knew  something 
about  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey.  Not  till  eight  centuries  have 
passed,  and  we  reach  Grocyn  and  Linacre,  was  it  again  to  be 
as  easy  for  an  Englishman  to  have  a  first-hand  knowledge  of 
a  Greek  classic  as  it  was  about  the  year  700.  What  scholarship 
had  sunk  to  by  the  days  of  Alfred,  we  know :  and  we  know  that 
all  Alfred's  patronage  did  not  produce  any  scholar  whom  we 
can  think  of  as  in  the  least  degree  comparable  to  Bede. 

So  that  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  close  touch  with 
heathendom,  its  tolerance  for  heathen  customs,  its  Christian 
magnanimity  and  gentleness,  its  conscious  art,  and  its  learned 
tone,  all  historic  and  artistic  analogy  would  lead  us  to  place 
Beoumlf  in  the  great  age — ^the  age  of  Bede. 

This  has  brought  us  to  another  question — more  interesting 
to  many  than  the  mere  question  of  date.     Are  we  to  suppose 


330  Evidence  for  the  date  0/ Beowulf 

any  direct  connection  between  the  classical  and  the  Old  English, 
epic? 

As  nations  pass  through  their  "Heroic  Age,"  similar  social 
conditions  will  necessarily  be  reflected  by  many  similarities  in 
their  poetry.  In  heroic  lays  like  Finnshurg  or  Hildebrand  or 
the  Norse  poems,  phrases  and  situations  may  occur  which 
remind  us  of  phrases  and  situations  in  the  Iliad,  without 
affording  any  ground  for  supposing  classical  influence  direct 
or  indirect. 

But  there  is  much  more  in  Beowulf  than  mere  accidental 
coincidence  of  phrase  or  situation. 

A  simple-minded  romancer  would  have  made  the  Mneid  a 

biography  of  ^neas  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.     Not  so 

Virgil.     The  story  begins  with  mention  of  Carthage.     iEneas. 

then  comes  on  the  scene.     At  a  banquet  he  tells  to  Dido  his- 

earlier  adventures.     Just  so  Beowulf  begins,  not  with  the  birth 

of  Beowulf  and  his  boyhood,  but  with  Heorot.     Beowulf  arrives. 

At  the  banquet,  in  reply  to  Unferth,  he  narrates  his  earlier 

adventures.     The  Beoundf-'poet  is  not  content  merely  to  tell  us 

that  there  was  minstrelsy  at  the  feast,  but  like  Virgil  or  Homer,. 

he  must  give  an  account  of  what  was  sung.     The  epic  style  leads 

often  to  almost  verbal  similarities.     Jupiter  consoling  Hercules- 

for  the  loss  of  the  son  of  his  host  says: 

stat  sua  cuique  dies,  breve  et  inreparabile  tempus 
omnibus  est  vitae;  sed  famam  extendere  factis 
hoc  virtutis  opus^. 

In  the  same  spirit  and  almost  in  the  same  words  does  Beowulf 
console  Hrothgar  for  the  loss  of  his  friend : 

Ure  eeghwylc  sceal  ende  gebidan 
worolde  lifes;  wyrce  se  l^e  mote 
domes  ^r  dea>e;  >set  bi|)  drihtguman 
unlifgendum  sefter  selest. 

On  the  other  hand,  though  we  are  often  struck  by  the- 
likeness  in  spirit  and  in  plan,  it  must  be  allowed  that  there  is 
no  tangible  or  conclusive  proof  of  borrowing^.  But  the  influence 
may  have  been  none  the  less  effective  for  being  indirect:  nor  is 

1  jEneid,  x,  467-9. 

2  In  the  two  admirable  articles  by  Klaeber  (Archiv,  cxxvi,  40  etc.,  339  etc,) 
every  possible  parallel  is  drawn :  the  result,  to  my  mind,  is  not  complete  con 
viction. 


1 


Possible  classical  influence  in  Beowulf  331 

it  quite  certain  that  the  author,  had  he  known  his  Virgil,  would 
necessarily  have  left  traces  of  direct  borrowing.  For  the  deep 
Christian  feeling,  which  has  given  to  Beowulf  its  almost  prudish 
propriety  and  its  edifying  tone,  is  manifested  by  no  direct  and 
dogmatic  reference  to  Christian  personages  or  doctrines. 

I  sympathize  with  Prof.  Chadwick's  feeling  that  a  man  who 
knew  Virgil  would  not  have  disguised  his  knowledge,  and  would 
ptobably  have  lacked  both  inclination  and  ability  to  compose 
such  a  poem  as  Beowulf^.  But  does  not  this  feeling  rest  largely 
upon  the  analogy  of  other  races  and  ages?  Is  it  borne  out  by 
such  known  facts  as  we  can  gather  about  this  period?  The 
reticence  of  Beowulf  with  reference  to  Christianity  does  not 
harmonize  with  one's  preconceived  ideas;  and  Bishop  Aldhelm 
gives  us  an  even  greater  surprise.  Let  anyone  read,  or  try  to 
read,  Aldhelm's  Epistola  ad  Acircium,  sive  liber  de  septenario  et 
de  metris.  Let  him  then  ask  himself  "Is  it  possible  that  this 
learned  pedant  can  also  have  been  the  author  of  English  poems 
which  King  Alfred — surely  no  mean  judge — thought  best  of  all 
he  knew?"  These  poems  may  of  course  have  been  educated 
and  learned  in  tone.  But  we  have  the  authority  of  King  Alfred 
for  the  fact  that  Aldhelm  used  to  perform  at  the  cross  roads  as 
a  common  minstrel,  and  that  he  could  hold  his  audiences  with 
such  success  that  they  resorted  to  him  again  and  again^.  Only 
after  he  had  made  himself  popular  by  several  performances  did 
he  attempt  to  weave  edifying  matter  into  his  verse.  And  the 
popular,  secular  poetry  of  Aldhelm,  his  carmen  triviale,  remained 
current  among  the  common  people  for  centuries.  Nor  was 
Aldhelm's  classical  knowledge  of  late  growth,  something  super- 
imposed upon  an  earlier  love  of  popular  poetry,  for  he  had 

*  Chad  wick.  Heroic  Age,  74. 

2  "  Litteris  itaque  ad  plenum  instructus,  nativae  quoque  linguae  non  negli- 
gebat  carmina;  adeo  ut,  teste  libro  Elfredi,  de  quo  superius  dixi,  nulla  umquam 
aetate  par  ei  fuerit  quisquam.  Poesim  Anglicam  posse  facere,  cantum  com- 
ponere,  eadem  apposite  vel  canere  vel  dicere.  Denique  oommemorat  ELfredus 
carmen  triviale,  quod  adhuc  vulgo  cantitatur,  Aldelmum  fecisse,  aditiens 
causam  qua  probet  rationabiliter  tantum  virum  his  quae  videantur  frivola 
institisse.  Populum  eo  tempore  semibarbarum,  parum  divinis  sermonibus 
intentum,  statim,  cantatis  missis,  domos  cursitare  solitum.  Ideo  sanctum 
virum,  super  pontem  qui  rura  et  urbem  continuat,  abeuntibus  se  opposuisse 
obicem,  quasi  artem  cantitandi  professum.  Eo  plusquam  semel  facto,  plebis 
favorem  et  concursum  emeritum.  Hoc  commento  sensim  inter  ludicra  verbis 
Scripturarum  insertis,  cives  ad  sanitatem  reduxisse."  William  of  Malmesbury, 
De  gestis  pontificum  Anglorum,  ed.  Hamilton,  Bolls  Series,  1870,  336. 


332  Evidence  for  the  date  o/"  Beowulf 

/studied  under  Hadrian  as  a  boy^.  Later  we  are  told  that 
I  King  Ine  imported  two  Greek  teachers  from  Athens  for  the  help 
Vf  Aldhelm  and  his  schooP ;  this  may  be  exaggeration. 

Everything  seems  to  show  that  about  700  an  atmosphere 
existed  in  England  which  might  easily  have  led  a  scholarly 
Englishman,  acquainted  with  the  old  lays,  to  have  set  to  work 
to  compose  an  epic.  Even  so  venerable  a  person  as  Bede, 
during  his  last  illness,  uttered  his  last  teaching  not,  as  we 
should  expect  on  a  priori  grounds,  in  Latin  hexameters,  but  in 
English  metre.  The  evidence  for  this  is  conclusive^.  But,  at 
a  later  date,  Alcuin  would  surely  have  condemned  the  min- 
strelsy of  Aldhelm*.  Even  King  Alfred  seems  to  have  felt  that 
it  needed  some  apology.  It  would  have  rendered  Aldhelm 
liable  to  severe  censure  under  the  Laws  of  King  Edgar^;  and 
Dunstan's  biographer  indignantly  denies  the  charge  brought 
against  his  hero  of  having  learnt  the  heathen  songs  of  his 
forefathers^. 

The  evidence  is  not  as  plentiful  as  we  might  wish,  but  it 
rather  suggests  that  the  chasm  between  secular  poetry  and 
ecclesiastical  learning  was  more  easily  bridged  in  the  first 
generations  after  the  conversion  than  was  the  case  later. 

But,  however  that  may  be,  it  assuredly  does  not  give  any 
grounds  for  abandoning  the  old  view,  based  largely  upon 
grammatical  and  metrical  considerations,  which  would  make 
Beowulf  a  product  of  the  early  eighth  century,  and  substituting 
for  it  a  theory  which  would  make  our  poem  a  product  of  mixed 
Saxon  and  Danish  society  in  the  early  tenth  century. 

^  "  Reverentissimo  patri  meaeque  rudis  infantiae  venerando  praeceptori 
Adriano."     Epist.  (Aldhelmi  Opera,  ed.  Giles,  1844,  p.  330). 

2  Faricius,  Life,  in  Giles'  edition  of  Aldhelm,  1844,  p.  357. 

'  Letter  of  Cuthbert  to  Cuthwine,  describing  Bede's  last  illness.  "Et  in 
nostra  lingua,  hoc  est  anglica,  ut  erat  doctus  in  nostris  carminibus,  nonnuUa 
dixit.  Nam  et  tunc  Anglico  carmine  componens,  multum  compunctus  aiebat, 
etc.'"  The  letter  is  quoted  by  Simeon  of  Durham,  ed.  Arnold,  Eolls  Series, 
1882,  I,  pp.  43-46,  and  is  extant  elsewhere,  notably  in  a  ninth  century  MS  at 
St  Gall. 

*  "quid  Hinieldus  cum  Christo." 

^  "  ^set  aenig  preost  ne  beo  ealuscop,  ne  on  senige  wisan  gliwige,  mid  him 
sylfum  ojjjje  mid  6|>rum  mannum  "7-Thorpe,  Ancient  Laws  and  Institutes  of 
England,  1840,  p.  400  (Laws  of  Edgar,  cap.  58). 

*  "avitae  gentilitatis  vanissima  didicisse  carmina."  This  charge  is  dis- 
missed as  "scabiem  mendacii."  Vita  Sancti  Dunstani,  by  "B,"  in  Memorials 
of  Dunstan,  ed.  Stubbs,  Eolls  Series,  1874,  p.  11.  Were  these  songs  heroic  or 
magic  ? 


The  ^^Jute-question"  reopened  333 

E.     THE  "JUTE-QUESTION"  REOPENED 

The  view  that  the  Geatas  of  Beowulf  are  the  Jutes  (luti, 
lutae)  of  Bede  (i.e.  the  tribe  which  colonized  Kent,  the  Isle  of 
Wight  and  Hampshire)  has  been  held  by  many  eminent  scholars. 
It  was  dealt  with  only  briefly  above  (pp.  8-9)  because  I  thought 
the  theory  was  now  recognized  as  being  no  longer  tenable. 
Lately,  however,  it  has  been  maintained  with  conviction  and 
ability  by  two  Danish  scholars,  Schiitte  and  Kier.  It  therefore 
becomes  necessary  once  more  to  reopen  the  question,  now  that 
the  only  elaborate  discussion  of  it  in  the  English  language 
favours  the  "  Jute- theory,"  especially  as  Axel  Olrik  gave  t^e 
support  of  his  great  name  to  the  view  that  "the  question  is 
still  open^"  and  that  "the  last  word  has  not  been  said  con- 
cerning the  nationality  of  the  Geatas^." 

As  in  most  controversies,  a  number  of  rather  irrelevant  side 
issues  have  been  introduced^,  so  that  from  mere  weariness 
students  are  sometimes  inclined  to  leave  the  problem  undecided. 
Yet  the  interpretation  of  the  opening  chapters  of  Scandinavian 
history  turns  upon  it. 

Supporters  of  the  "Jute-theory"  have  seldom  approached 
the  subject  from  the  point  of  view  of  Old  English.  Bugge* 
perhaps  did  so:  but  the  "Jute-theory"  has  been  held  chiefly 
by  students  of  Scandinavian  history,  literature  or  geography, 
like  Fahlbeck^,Steenstrup^,  Gering',  Olrik^  Schiitte^  and  Kier^o. 
But,  now  that  the  laws  of  Old  English  sound-change  have  been 

^  The  Heroic  Legends  of  Denmark,  New  York,  191&,  p.  32  (footnote). 

2  Ibid.  p.  39. 

'  Thus,  much  space  has  been  devoted  to  discussing  whether  "Gotland,"  in 
the  eleventh  century  Cotton  MS  of  Alfred's  Orosius,  signifies  Jutland.  I  believe 
that  it  does;  but  fail  to  see  how  it  can  be  argued  from  this  that  Alfred  believed 
the  Jutes  to  be  "Geatas."  Old  English  had  no  special  symbol  for  the  semi- 
vowel J;  so,  to  signify  Jotland,  Alfred  would  have  written  "Geotland"  (Sievers, 
Oram.  §§  74,  175).  Had  he  meant  "Land  of  the  Geatas"  he  would  have  written 
"Geataland"  or  "Geatland."  Surely  "Gotland"  is  nearer  to  "Geotland"  than 
to  "Geatland."  *  P.B,B.  xii,  1-10. 

*  See  above,  p.  8.  Fahlbeck  has  recently  revised  and  re-stated  his  arguments. 

•  Danmarks  Riges  Historie,  i,  79  etc. 

'  BeowulJ,  iibersetzt  von  H.  Gering,  1906,  p.  vii. 

8  See  above,  also  Nordisk  AandsUv,  10,  where  Olrik  speaks  of  the  Geatas 
as  "Jydeme."  His  arguments  as  presented  to  the  Copenhagen  Philologisk- 
historisk  Samfund  are  summarized  by  Schiitte,  J.E.O.  Ph.  xi,  575-6.  Clausen 
also  supports  the  Jute-theory,  Danahe  Sludier^  1918   137-49. 

»  J.E.Q.Ph.  XI,  574-602. 

1®  Beoumlf,  et  Bidrag  til  Nordens  Oldhistorie  af  Chr.  Kier,  Kji^benhavn,  1916. 


334  The  ^^Jute-question"  reopened 

clearly  defined,  it  seldom  happens  that  anyone  who  approaches 
the  subject  primarily  as  a  student  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  language 
holds  the  view  that  the  Geatas  are  Jutes. 

And  this  is  naturally  so:  for,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
language,  the  question  is  not  disputable.  The  Geatas  phono- 
logically  are  the  Gautar  (the  modern  Gotar  of  Southern  Sweden). 
It  is  admitted  that  the  words  are  identical^.  And,  equally,  it 
is  admitted  that  the  word  Geatas  cannot  be  identical  with  the 
word  luti,  lutae,  used  by  Bede  as  the  name  of  the  Jutes  who 
colonized  Kent^.  Bede's  luti,  lutae,  on  the  contrary,  would 
correspond  to  a  presumed  Old  English  *Iuti  or  "^lutan^,  current 
in  his  time  in  Northumbria.  This  in  later  Northumbrian  would 
become  lote,  lotan  (though  the  form  lute,  lutan  might  also 
survive).  The  dialect  forms  which  we  should  expect  (and  which 
we  find  in  the  genitive  and  dative)  corresponding  to  this  would 
be:  Mercian,  Bote,  Eotan;  Late  West-Saxon,  Yte,  Ytan  (thiough 
an  intermediate  Early  West-Saxon  *Iete,  *Ietan,  which  is  not 
recorded). 

If,  then,  the  word  Geatas  came  to  supplant  the  correct  form 
lote,  lotan  (or  its  Mercian  and  West-Saxon  equivalents  Bote, 
Eotan,  Yte,  rton),thiscanonly  have  been  the  result  of  confusion. 
Such  confusion  is,  on  abstract  grounds,  conceivable :  it  is  always 
possible  that  the  name  of  one  tribe  may  come  to  be  attached  to 
another.  "Scot"  has  ceased  to  mean  "Irishman,"  and  has  come 
to  mean  "North  Briton" ;  and  there  is  no  intrinsic  impossibility 
in  the  word  Geatas  having  been  transferred  by  Englishmen,  from 
the  half-forgotten  Gautar,  to  the  Jutes,  and  having  driven  out 
the  correct  name  of  the  latter,  lote,  lotan.  For  example,  there 
might  have  been  an  exiled  Geatic  family  among  the  Jutish 
invaders,  which  might  have  become  so  prominent  as  to  cause 

1  This  is  admitted  by  Bugge,  P.B.B.  xn,  6.  " Oedtas... iat  sprachlich  ein 
ganz  anderer  name  als  altn.  Jotar,  Jutar,  bei  Beda  Jutae,  und  nach  Beda  im 
Chron.  Sax.  449  Jotum,  Jutna... Die  Geatas... tragen  einen  namen  der  sprachlich 
mit  altn.  Gautar  identisch  ist." 

2  From  a  presumed  Prim.  Germ.  *Eutiz,  *Eutjaniz.  The  word  in  O.E. 
seems  to  have  been  declined  both  as  an  i-stem  and  an  n-stem,  the  w-stem  forms 
being  used  more  particularly  in  the  gen.  plu.,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  tribal 
names,  Seaze,  Mierce  (Sievers,  §  264).  The  Latinized  forms  show  the  same 
duplication,  the  dat.  Euciis  pointing  to  an  i-stem,  the  nom.  Euthio  to  an  w-stem, 
plu.  *Eutiones.  For  a  discussion  of  the  relation  of  the  O.E.  name  to  the  Danish 
Jyder,  see  Bjorkman  in  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxviii,  274-80:  "Zu  ae.  Eote,  Yte, 
dan.  Jyder  'Jtiten'." 


Form  of  the  word  in  Old  English  335 

the  name  Geataa  to  supplant  the  correct  lote.  Bote,  etc.     But, 
whoever  the  Geatas  may  have  been,  Beowulf  is  their  chief  early  '^ 
record:  indeed,  almost  all  we  know  of  their  earliest  history  is    ^ 
derived  from  Beowulf.     In  Beowulf,  therefore,  if  anywhere,  the 
old  names  and  traditions  should  be  remembered.     The  word 
Geat  occurs  some  50.  times  in  the  poem.     The  poet  obviously 
wishes  to  use  other  synonyms,  for  the  sake  of  variety  and 
alliteration:  hence  we  get  Weder-Geatas,  WederaSy  S^-Geatas, 
GutS-Geatas.     Now,  if  these  Geatas  are  the  Jutes,  how  comes  u^ 
it  that  the  poet  never  calls  them  such,  never  speaks  of  them  under 
the  correct  tribal  name  of  Bote,  etc.,  although  this  was  the 
current  name  at  the  time  Beoumlf  was  written,  and  indeed  for 
centuries  later? 

For,  demonstrably,  the  form  Bote,  etc.,  was  recognized  as 
the  name  of  the  Jutes  till  at  least  the  twelfth  century.  Then 
it  died  out  of  current  speech,  and  only  Bede's  Latin  luti  (and 
the  modern  "Jute"  derived  therefrom)  remained  as  terms  used 
by  the  historians.     The  evidence  is  conclusive: 

{a)  Bede,  writing  about  the  time  when  Beoumlf,  in  its 
present  form,  is  supposed  to  have  been  composed,  uses  luti, 
lutae,  corresponding  to  a  presumed  contemporary  Northumbrian 
''^luti,  *Iutan. 

(b)  In  the  O.E.  translation  of  Bede,  made  in  Mercia  perhaps 
two  centuries  after  Bede's  time,  we  do  indeed  in  one  place  find 
"Geata,"  "Geatum"  used  to  translate  "lutarum,"  "lutis," 
instead  of  the  correctly  corresponding  Mercian  form  "Eota," 
"Eotum."  Only  two  mss  are  extant  at  this  point.  But 
since  both  agree,  and  since  they  belong  to  different  types,  it  is 
probable  that  "Geata"  here  is  no  mere  copyist's  error,  but  is 
due  to  the  translator  himself^.     But,  later,  when  the  translator 

^  I  regard  it  as  simply  an  error  of  the  translator,  possibly  because  he  had 
before  him  a  text  in  which  Bede's  lutis  had  been  corrupted  in  this  place  into 
OiotiSy  as  it  is  in  Ethelwerd:  Cantuarii  de  Giotis  trazerunt  originem,  Vuhtii 
quoque.  (Bk.  i:  other  names  which  Ethelwerd  draws  from  Bede  in  this  section 
are  equally  corrupt.), 

Bede's  text  runs:  (i,  15)  Aduenerant  autem  de  tribus  Oermaniae  populis 
fortioribus,  id  est  Saxonibua,  Anglis,  lutis.  De  lutarum  origine  sunt  Cantuarii 
et  Victuarii;  in  the  translation:  "Comon  hi  of  |>rim  f oleum  tSam  strangestan 
Germanic,  )>8et  [is]  of  Seaxum  and  of  Angle  and  of  Geatum.  Of  Geata  fruman 
syndon  Cantware  and  Wihtsaetan":  (iv,  16)  In  proximam  lutorum  prouinciam 
translati...in  locum,  qui  uocatur  Ad  Lapidem;  "in  t>a  neahmsegtJe^  seo  is  gecegd 
Eota  lond,  in  surae  stowe  seo  is  nemned  Mt  Stane"  (Stoneham,  near  South- 
ampton).    MS  C.C.C.C.  41  reads  "Ytena  land":  see  below. 


336  The  ^^Jute-question"  reopened 

has  to  render  Bede's  "lutorum,"  lie  gives,  not  "Geata,"  but 
the  correct  Mercian  "Eota."  There  can  be  no  possible  doubt 
here,  for  five  mss  are  extant  at  this  point,  and  all  give  the 
correct  form — ^four  in  the  Mercian,  "Eota,"  whilst  one  gives^ 
the  West-Saxon  equivalent,  "Ytena." 

Now  the  6^mto-passage  in  the  Bede  translation  is  the  chief 
piece  of  evidence  which  those  who  would  explain  the  Geatas- 
of  Beowulf  as  "Jutes"  can  call:  and  it  does  not,  in  fact,  much 
help  them.  What  they  have  to  prove  is  that  the  Beowulf--poet 
could  consistently  and  invariably  have  used  Geatas  in  the  place 
of  Bote.  To  produce  an  instance  in  which  the  two  terms  are 
both  used  by  the  same  translator  is  very  little  use,  when  what 
has  to  be  proved  is  that  the  one  term  had  already,  at  a  much 
earlier  period,  entirely  ousted  the  other. 

All  our  other  evidence  is  for  the  invariable  use  of  the  correct 
form  lote,  lotan,  etc.  in  Old  English. 

(c)  The  passage  from  Bede  was  again  translated,  and  in- 
serted into  a  copy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  which  wa& 
sent  quite  early  to  one  of  the  great  abbeys  of  Northumbrian. 
In  this,  "lutis,  lutarum"  is  represented  by  the  correct  North- 
umbrian equivalent,  "lutum,"  "lotum";  "lutna." 

(d)  This  Northumbrian  Chronicle,  or  a  transcript  of  it, 
subsequently  came  South,  to  Canterbury.  There,  roughly  about 
the  year  1100,  it  was  used  to  interpolate  an  Early  West-Saxon 
copy  of  the  Chronicle.  Surely  at  Canterbury,  the  capital  of 
the  old  Jutish  kingdom,  people  must  have  known  the  correct 
form  of  the  Jutish  name,  whether  Geatas  or  lote.  We  find  the 
forms  "lotum,"  "lutum";  "lutna." 

(e)  Corresponding  to  this  Northumbrian  (and  Kentish) 
form  lote,  Mercian  Bote,  the  Late  West-Saxon  form  should  be 
Yte.  Now  MS  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge,  41,  gives  us 
"the  Wessex  version  of  the  English  Bede"  and  is  written  by 
a  scribe  who  knew  the  Hampshire  district^.  In  this  ms  the 
"  Eota  "  of  the  Mercian  original  has  been  transcribed  as  "  Ytena," 
"Eotum"  as  "Ytum,"  showing  that  the  scribe  understood  the 
tribal  name  and  its  equivalent  correctly.     This  was  about  the 

^  Two  Saxon  Chronicles,  ed.  Plummer,  1899.     Introduction,  pp.  Ixx,  Ixxi. 
2  The  O.E.  version  of  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History,  ed.  Miller,  ii,  xv,  xvi,  1898. 


Beovmlf  8  people  never  called  Yte  337 

time  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  but  the  name  continued  to  be 
understood  till  the  early  twelfth  century  at  least.  For  Florence 
of  Worcester  records  that  William  Rufus  was  slain  in  Nona 
Foresta  quae  lingua  Anglorum  Ytene  nuncupatur;  and  in  another 
place  he  speaks  of  the  same  event  as  happening  in  prouincia 
Jutarum  in  Noua  Foresta^,  which  shows  that  Florence  under- 
stood that  "Ytene"  was  Ytena  land,  "the  province  of  the 
Jutes." 

It  comes,  then,  to  this.  The  "Jute-hypothesis"  postulates 
not  only  that,  at  the  time  Beowulf  was  composed,  Geatas  had 
come  to  mean  "Jutes,"  but  also  that  it  had  so  completely 
ousted  the  correct  old  name  luti,  lote,  Bote,  Yte,  that  none  of 
the  latter  terms  are  ever  used  in  the  poem  as  synonyms  for 
BeowuK's  people 2.  Yet  all  the  evidence  shows  that  luti  etc. 
was  the  recognized  name  when  Bede  wrote,  and  we  have 
evidence  at  intervals  showing  that  it  was  so  understood  till 
four  centuries  later.  But  not  only  was  luti,  lote  never  super- 
seded in  O.E.  times;  there  is  no  real  evidence  that  Geatas  was 
ever  generally  used  to  signify  "Jutes."  The  fact  that  one 
translator  in  one  passage  (writing  probably  some  two  centuries 
after  Beowulf  was  composed)  uses  "Geata,"  "Geatum,"  where 
he  should  have  used  "Eota,"  "Eotum,"  does  not  prove  the 
misnomer  to  have  been  general — especially  when  the  same 
translator  subsequently  uses  the  correct  form  "Eota." 

I  do  not  think  sufficient  importance  has  been  attached  to 
what  seems  (to  me)  the  vital  argument  against  the  "Jute- 
theory."  It  is  not  merely  that  Geatas  is  the  exact  phonological 
equivalent  of  Gautar  (Gotar)  and  cannot  be  equivalent  to  Bede's 
luti.  This  difficulty  may  be  got  over  by  the  assumption  that 
somehow  the  luti,  or  some  of  them,  had  adopted  the  name 
Geatas :  and  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  disprove  such  assumption. 
But  the  advocates  of  the  "  Jute- theory  "  have  further  to  assume 
that,  at  the  date  when  Beowulf  was  written,  the  correct  name 
luti  (Northumbrian  lote,  Mercian  Bote,  West-Saxon  Yte)  must 
have  80  passed  into  disuse  that  it  could  not  be  once  used  as  a 

1  Florentii  Wigom.  Chron.,  ed.  Thorpe,  n,  45;  i,  276. 

'  It  cannot  be  said  that  this  is  due  to  textual  corruption  in  our  late  copy, 
for  the  alliteration  constantly  demands  a  G-form,  not  a  vowel-form. 

o.  B.  22 


338  The  ^^Jute-question"  reopened 

synonym  for  Beowulf's  people,  by  our  synonym-hunting  poet. 
And  this  assumption  we  are  in  a  position  to  disprove. 

The  Jute-theory  would  therefore  still  be  untenable  on  the 
ground  of  the  name,  even  though  it  were  laboriously  proved 
that,  from  the  historical  and  geographical  standpoint,  there 
was  more  to  be  said  for  it  than  had  hitherto  been  recognized. 
But  even  this  has  not  been  proved:  quite  the  reverse.  As  I 
have  tried  to  show  above,  historical  and  geographical  con- 
siderations, though  in  themselves  not  absolutely  conclusive, 
point  emphatically  to  an  identification  with  the  Gotar,  rather 
than  with  the  Jutes^. 

The  relations  of  Beowulf  and  the  Geatas  with  the  kings  of 
Denmark  and  of  Sweden  are  the  constant  topic  of  the  poem. 
Now  the  land  of  the  Gotar  was  situated  between  Denmark  and 
Sweden.  But  if  the  Geatas  be  Jutes,  their  neighbours  were  the 
Danes  on  the  east  and  the  Angles  on  the  south ;  farther  away, 
across  the  Cattegat  lay  the  Gotar,  and  beyond  these  the  Swedes. 
If  the  Geatas  be  Jutes,  why  should  their  immediate  neighbours, 
the  Angles,  never  appear  in  Beowulf  as  having  any  dealings 
with  them?  And  why,  above  all,  should  the  Gotar  never  be 
mentioned,  whilst  the  Swedes,  far  to  the  north,  play  so  large 
a  part?  Even  if  Swedes  and  Gotar  had  at  this  time  been 
under  one  king,  the  Gotar  could  not  have  been  thus  ignored, 
seeing  that,  owing  to  their  position,  the  brunt  of  the  fighting 
must  have  fallen  on  them^.  But  we  know  that  the  Gotar  were 
independent.  The  strictly  contemporary  evidence  of  Procopius 
shows  quite  conclusively  that  they  were  one  of  the  strongest 
of  the  Scandinavian  kingdoms^.  How  then  could  warfare  be 
carried  on  for  three  generations  between  Jutes  and  Swedes 
without  concerning  the  Gotar,  whose  territory  lay  in  between? 

Again,  in  the  "Catalogue  of  Kings"  in  Widsith,  the  Swedes 
are  named  with  their  famous  king  Ongentheow.  The  Jutes 
(Yte)  are  also  mentioned,  with  their  king.     And  their  king   is 

1  See  pp.  8,  9  above,  §§  2-7. 

2  Just  as,  for  example,  in  Heimskringla:  Haraldz  saga  ins  hdrfagra^  13-17, 
the  Gotar  are  constantly  mentioned,  because  the  kingdom  of  Sweden  is  being 
attacked  from  their  side, 

3  Procopius  tells  us  that  there  were  in  Thule  (i.e.  the  Scandinavian  peninsula) 
thirteen  nations,  each  under  its  own  king:  /^a<rtXeis  r^  eiVt  /cara  ^6uoi  'eKaaTov... 
(Jov  ^dfos  iv  TToKvapdpuJTrov  ol  TavToi  eiai.  [Bell.  Oott.  ii,  15). 


1 


Frontiers  of  the  Gotar  339 

not  Hrethel,  Haethcyn,  Hygelac  or  Heardred,  but  a  certain 
Gefwulf,  whose  name  does  not  even  alliterate  with  that  of  any- 
known  king  of  the  Geatas^. 

Again,  in  the  (certainly  very  early)  Book  on  Monsters, 
Hygelac  is  described  as  Huiglaucus  qui  imperavit  Getis.  Now 
Getis  can  mean  Gotar^,  but  can  hardly  mean  Jutes. 

The  geographical  case  against  the  identification  of  Geatas 
and  Gotar  depends  upon  the  assumption  that  the  western  sea- 
coast  of  the  Gotar  in  ancient  times  must  have  coincided  with 
that  of  West  Gothland  (Vestra-Gotland)  in  mediaeval  and 
modern  times.  Now  as  this  coast  consists  merely  of  a  small 
strip  south  of  the  river  Gotaelv,  it  is  argued  that  the  Gotar 
could  not  be  the  maritime  Geatas  of  Beowulf,  capable  of  under- 
taking a  Viking  raid  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ehine.  But  the 
assumption  that  the  frontiers  of  the  Gotar  about  a.d.  500  were 
the  same  as  they  were  a  thousand  years  later,  is  not  only  im- 
probable on  a  priori  grounds,  but,  as  Schiick  has  shown^,  can 
be  definitely  disproved.  Adam  of  Bremen,  writing  in  the 
eleventh  century,  speaks  of  the  river  Gothelba  (Gotaelv)  as 
running  through  the  midst  of  the  peoples  of  the  Gotar.  And 
the  obvious  connection  between  the  name  of  the  river  and  the 
name  of  the  people  seems  to  make  it  certain  that  Adam  is 
right,  and  that  the  original  Gotar  must  have  dwelt  around  the 
river  Gdtaelv.  But,  if  so,  then  they  were  a  maritime  folk:  for 
the  river  Gotaelv  is  merely  the  outlet  which  connects  Lake  Wener 
with  the  sea,  running  a  course  almost  parallel  with  the  shore  and 
nowhere  very  distant  from  it*.   But  even  when  Adam  wrote,  the 

^  On  this  alliteration-test,  which  is  very  important,  see  above,  pp.  10-11. 

2  Oeta  was  the  recognized  Latin  synonym  for  Gothus,  and  is  used  in  this 
sense  in  the  sixth  century,  e.g.  by  Venantius  Fortunatus  and  Jordanes.  And 
the  Gotar  are  constantly  called  Gothi,  e.g.  in  the  formula  rex  Sueorum  et  Gothorum 
(for  the  date  of  this  formula  see  Soderqvist  in  the  Historisk  Tidskrift,  1915 :  Agde 
Uppavearne  rdtt  att  toga  och  vrdka  konung);  or  Saxo,  Bk.  xiii  (ed.  Holder,  p.  420, 
describing  how  the  Gothi  invited  a  candidate  to  be  king,  and  slew  the  rival 
claimant,  who  was  supported  by  the  legally  more  constitutional  suffrages  of 
the  Swedes);  or  Adam  of  Bremen  (as  quoted  below). 

*  Folknamnet  Geatas,  p.  5  etc. 

*  Speaking  of  the  Gotaelv,  Adam  says  "Hie  oritur  in  praedictis  alpibus, 
perque  medios  Gothorum  populos  currit  in  Oceanum,  unde  et  Gothelba  dicitur." 
Adami  Canonici  Bremensis,  Gesta  Hamm.  eccl.  pontificum.  Lib.  iv,  in  Migne, 
CXLVI,  637.  Modem  scholars  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  borrowing  has  been 
rather  the  other  way.  According  to  Noreen  the  river  Gotaelv  (Gautelfr)  gets 
its  name  as  the  outflow  from  Lake  Vaener.  (Cf.  O.E.  geotan,  geat,  "pour.") 
Ootland  (Gautland)  is  the  country  around  the  river,  and  the  Gotar  (Gautar) 

22—2 


340  The  ^^ Jute-question^'  reopened 

Gotar  to  the  north  of  the  river  had  long  been  politically  subject 
to  Norway^ :  and  the  Heimshringla  tells  us  how  this  happened. 

Harold  Fairhair,  King  of  Norway  (a  contemporary  of  King 
Alfred),  attacked  them:  they  had  staked  the  river  Gotaelv 
against  him,  but  he  moored  his  ships  to  the  stakes^  and  harried 
on  either  shore :  he  fought  far  and  wide  in  the  country,  had  many 
battles  on  either  side  of  the  river,  and  finally  slew  the  leader  of 
the  Gotar,  Hrani  Gauzki  (the  Gotlander).  Then  he  annexed 
to  Norway  all  the  land  north  of  the  river  and  west  of  Lake 
Wener.  Thenceforward  the  Gotaelv  was  the  boundary  between 
Norway  and  West  Gothland,  though  the  country  ultimately 
became  Swedish,  as  it  now  is.  But  it  is  abundantly  clear  from 
the  Heimshringla  that  Harold  regarded  as  hostile  all  the 
territory  north  of  the  Gotaelv,  and  between  Lake  Wener  and 
the  sea^  (the  old  Ednriki  and  the  modern  Bohuslan). 

But,  if  so,  then  the  objection  that  the  Gotar  are  not  a 
sufficiently  maritime  people  becomes  untenable.  For  precisely 
to  this  region  belong  the  earliest  records  of  maritime  warfare 
to  be  found  in  the  north  of  Europe,  possibly  the  earliest  in 
Europe.  The  smooth  rocks  of  Bohuslan  are  covered  with 
incised  pictures  of  the  Bronze  age:  and  the  favourite  subject 
of  these  is  ships  and  naval  encounters.  About  120  different 
pictures  of  ships  and  sea  fights  are  reproduced  by  one  scholar 
alone*.  And  at  the  present  day  this  province  of  Goteborg  and 
Bohus  is  the  most  important  centre  in  Sweden  both  of  fishery 
and  shipping.  Indeed,  more  than  one  quarter  of  the  total  ton- 
nage of  the  modern  Swedish  mercantile  marine  comes  from  this 
comparatively  tiny  strip  of  coast^. 

get  their  name  from  the  country.  See  Noreen,  Vara  Ortnamn  och  deras  Ur- 
sprungliga  Betydelse,  in  Spridda  Studier,  ii,  91,  139. 

^  The  Scholiast,  in  his  commentary  on  Adam,  records  the  later  state  of  things, 
when  the  Gotar  were  confined  to  the  south  of  the  river:  "Gothelba  fluvius  a 
Nordmannis  Gothiam  separat." 

2  Heimskringla,  cap.  17. 

3  "  Hann  [Haraldr]  er  liti  a  herskipum  allan  vetrinn  ok  herjar  d  Ranriki  '* 
(cap.  15).  "  Haraldr  konungr  for  viSa  um  Gautland  herskildi,  ok  atti  J)ar  margar 
arrostur  tveim  megin  elfarinnar....SltJan  lagtSi  Haraldr  konungr  land  alt  undir 
sik  fyrir  norSan  elfina  ok  f yrir  vestan  Vseni "  (cap.  17).  Heimskringla:  Haraldz 
saga  ins  hdrfagra,  udgiv.  F.  Jonsson,  K^benhavn,  1893-1900. 

*  Baltzer  (L. ),  Glyphes  des  rochers  du  Bohuslan,  avec  une  preface  de  V.  Rydberg, 
Gothembourg,  1881.  See  also  Baltzer,  Nagra  af  de  viktigaste  Hdllristningarna, 
Goteborg,  1911. 

^  Guinchard,  Sweden:  Historical  and  Statistical  Handbook,  1914,  n,  649. 


The  Geatas  (Gotar)  a  maritime  people  341 

It  is  surely  quite  absurd  to  urge  that  the  men  of  this  coast 
could  not  have  harried  the  Frisians  in  the  manner  in  which 
Hygelac  is  represented  as  doing.  And  surely  it  is  equally  absurd 
to  urge  that  the  people  of  this  coast  would  not  have  had  to  fear 
a  return  attack  from  the  Frisians,  after  the  downfall  of  their 
own  kings.  The  Frisians  seem  to  have  been  "the  chief  channel 
of  communication  between  the  North  and  West  of  Europe^" 
before  the  rise  of  the  Scandinavian  Vikings,  and  to  have  been 
supreme  in  the  North  Sea.  The  Franks  were  of  course  a  land 
power,  but  the  Franks,  when  in  alliance  with  the  Frisians,  were 
by  no  means  helpless  at  sea.  Gregory  of  Tours  tells  us  that 
they  overthrew  Hygelac  on  land,  and  then  in  a  sea  fight  annihi- 
lated his  fleet.  Now  the  poet  says  that  the  Geatas  may  expect 
war  when  the  Franks  and  Frisians  hear  of  Beowulf's  fall.  The 
objection  that,  because  they  feared  the  Franks,  the  Geatas 
must  have  been  reachable  by  land,  depends  upon  leaving  the 
"and  Frisians"  out  of  consideration. 

"Now  we  may  look  for  a  time  of  war"  says  the  messenger 
"when  the  fall  of  our  king  is  known  among  the  Franks  and 
Frisians":  then  he  gives  a  brief  account  of  the  raid  upon  the 
land  of  the  Frisians  and  concludes:  "Ever  since  then  has  the 
favour  of  the  Merovingian  king  been  denied  us^."  What  is 
there  in  this  to  indicate  whether  the  raiders  came  from  Jutland, 
or  from  the  coast  of  the  Gotar  across  the  Cattegat,  50  miles 
further  off?  The  messenger  goes  on  to  anticipate  hostility  from 
the  Swedes^.  To  this,  at  any  rate,  the  Gotar  were  more  exposed 
than  the  Jutes.  Further,  he  concludes  by  anticipating  the  utter 
overthrow  of  the  Geatas*:  and  the  poet  expressly  tells  us  that 
these  forebodings  were  justified^  There  must  therefore  be  a 
reference  to  some  famous  national  catastrophe.  Now  the  Gotar 
did  lose  their  independence,  and  were  incorporated  into  the 
Swedish  kingdom.  When  did  the  Jutes  suffer  any  similar 
downfall  at  the  hands  of  either  Frisians,  Franks,  or  Swedes? 

The  other  geographical  and  historical  arguments  urged  in 
favour  of  the  Jutes,  when  carefully  scrutinized,  are  found  either 

1  See  Chadwick,  Origin,  93;  Heroic  Age,  51. 

«  11.  2910-21.     See  Schutte,  579,  683.  »  n  2922-3007. 

«  U.  3018-27.  5  IL  3029-30. 


342  The  *^ Jute-question''  reopened 

equally  indecisive,  or  else  actually  to  tell  against  the  "Jute- 
theory."  Schiitte^  thinks  that  the  name  "Wederas"  (applied 
in  Beowulf  to  the  Geatas)  is  identical  with  the  name  Eudoses 
(that  of  a  tribe  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  who  may'^  have  dwelt  in 
Jutland).  But  this  is  impossible  phonologically :  Wederas  is 
surely  a  shortened  form  of  Weder-Geatas,  "the  Storm- Geatas." 
Indeed,  we  have,  in  favour  of  the  Gotar- theory,  the  fact  that  the 
very  name  of  the  Wederas  survives  on  the  Bohuslan  coast  to 
this  day,  in  the  Wader  Oar  and  the  Wader  Fiord. 

Advocates  of  the  "Jute-theory"  lay  great  stress  upon  the 
fact  that  Gregory  of  Tours  and  the  Liber  Historiae  Francorum 
call  Hygelac  a  Dane^:  Dani  cum  rege  suo  Chochilaico.  Now, 
when  Gregory  wrote  in  the  sixth  century,  either  the  Jutes  were 
entirely  distinct  from,  and  independent  of,  the  Danes,  or  they 
were  not.  If  they  were  distinct,  how  do  Gregory's  words  help 
the  "Jute-theory"?  He  must  be  simply  using  "Dane,"  like 
the  Anglo-Saxon  historians,  for  "Scandinavian."  But  if  the 
Jutes  were  not  distinct  from  the  Danes,  then  we  have  an  argu- 
ment against  the  "Jute- theory."  For  we  know  from  Beowulf 
that  the  Geatas  were  quite  distinct  from  the  Danes*,  and  quite 
independent  of  them^ 

It  is  repeatedly  urged  that  the  Geatas  and  Swedes  fight 
ofer  sse^.  But  sse  can  mean  a  great  fresh- water  lake,  like  Lake 
Wener,  just  as  well  as  the  ocean':  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  we 
know  that  the  decisive  battle  did  take  place  on  Lake  Wener, 
in  stagno  Waener,  a  Vasnis  isi^.  Lake  Wener  is  an  obvious 
battle  place  for  Gotar  and  Swedes.  They  were  separated  by 
the  great  and  almost  impassable  forests  of  "Tived"  and 
"Kolmard,"  and  the  lake  was  their  simplest  way  of  meeting^. 
But  it  does  not  equally  fit  Jutes  and  Swedes. 

It  is  repeatedly  objected  that  the  Gotar  are  remote  from 
the  Anglo-Saxons^^.   Possibly:  but  remoteness  did  not  prevent 

1  pp.  575,  581. 

2  The  reason  for  locating  the  Eudoses  in  Jutland  is  that  the  name  has,  very 
hazardously,  been  identified  with  that  of  the  Jutes,  Eutiones.  Obviously  this 
argument  could  no  longer  be  used,  if  the  Eudoses  were  the  "Wederas." 

»  See  e.g.  Schiitte,  579-80.  *  Beowulf,  1856.  «  Beowulf,  1830  e*c. 

•  Beoumlf,  2394.     See  Schiitte,  576-9. 
'  Seo  ea  J^ser  wyrcp  micelne  ssr.     Orosius,  ed.  Sweet,  12,  24. 

*  See  above,  p.  7.  "  As  Miss  Panes,  herself  a  Qeat,  points  out  to  me, 
"  Kier,  39;  Schiitte,  582,  591  etc. 


Ottar  Vendel-crow  and  his  mound  343 

the  Anglo-Saxons  from  being  interested  in  heroes  of  the  Huns 
or  Goths  or  Burgundians  or  Longobards,  who  were  much  more^ 
distant.  And  the  absence  of  any  direct  connection  between 
the  history  of  the  Geatas  and  the  historic  Anglo-Saxon  records, 
affords  a  strong  presumption  that  the  Geatas  were  a  somewhat 
ahen  people.  If  the  people  of  Beowulf,  Hygelac,  and  Hrethel, 
were  the  same  people  as  the  Jutes  who  colonized  Kent  and 
Hampshire,  why  do  we  never,  in  the  Kentish  royal  genealogies 
or  elsewhere,  find  any  claim  to  such  connection?  The  Mercians 
did  not  so  forget  their  connection  with  the  old  Oifa  of  Angel, 
although  a  much  greater  space  of  time  had  intervened.  The 
fact  that  we  have  no  mention  among  the  ancestors  of  Beowulf 
and  Hygelac  of  any  names  which  we  can  connect  with  the 
Jutish  genealogy  affords,  therefore,  a  strong  presumption  that 
they  belonged  to  some  other  tribe. 

The  strongest  historical  argument  for  the  "Jute-theory"  was 
that  produced  by  Bugge.  The  Ynglinga  tal  represents  Ottar 
(who  is  certainly  the  Ohthere  of  Beowulf)  as  having  fallen  in 
Vendel,  and  this  Vendel  was  clearly  understood  as  being  the 
district  of  that  name  in  North  Jutland.  The  body  of  this 
Swedish  king  was  torn  asunder  by  carrion  birds,  and  he  was 
remembered  as  "the  Vendel-crow,"  a  mocking  nickname  which 
pretty  clearly  goes  back  to  primitive  times.  Other  ancient 
authors  attributed  this  name,  not  to  Ottar,  but  to  his  father, 
who  can  be  identified  with  the  Ongentheow  of  Beowulf.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  hereditary  foes  of  Ongentheow 
and  the  Swedish  kings  of  his  house  were,  after  all,  the  Jutes  of 
Vendel. 

But  Knut  Stjerna  has  shown  that  the  Vendel  from  which 
"  Ottar  Vendel-crow  "  took  his  name  was  probably  not  the  Vendel 
of  Jutland  at  all,  but  the  place  of  that  name  north  of  Uppsala, 
famous  for  the  splendid  grave-finds  which  show  it  to  have  been 
of  peculiar  importance  during  our  period^.  And  subsequent 
research  has  shown  that  a  huge  grave-mound,  near  this  Vendel, 
is  mentioned  in  a  record  of  the  seventeenth  century  as  King 

1  See  above,  pp.  99,  100. 

«  Vendel  och  Vendelkraka  in  A.f.n.F.  xxi,  71-80:  see  Essays,  trans.  Clark 
HaU,  50-62. 


344  The  ^^Jute-qn^stion"  reopened 

Ottar's  mound,  and  is  still  popularly  known  as  the  mound  of 
Ottar  Vendel-crow^.  But,  if  so,  this  story  of  the  Vendel-crow, 
so  far  from  supporting  the  "Jute-hypothesis,"  tells  against  it: 
nothing  could  be  more  suitable  than  Vendel,  north  of  Uppsala, 
as  the  "last  ditch"  to  which  Ongentheow  retreated,  if  we 
assume  his  adversaries  to  have  been  the  Gotar:  but  it  would  not 
suit  the  Jutes  so  well. 

An  exploration  of  the  mound  has  proved  beyond  reasonable 
doubt  that  it  was  raised  to  cover  the  ashes  of  Ottar  Vendel-crow, 
the  Ohthere  of  Beowulf^.  That  Ohthere  fell  in  battle  against  the 
Geatas  there  is  nothing,  in  Beowulf  or  elsewhere,  to  prove.  But 
the  fact  that  his  ashes  were  laid  in  mound  at  Vendel  in  Sweden 
makes  it  unUkely  that  he  fell  in  battle  against  the  Jutes,  and  is 
quite  incompatible  with  what  we  are  told  in  the  Ynglinga  saga 
of  his  body  having  been  torn  to  pieces  by  carrion  fowl  on  a 
mound  in  Vendel  in  Jutland.  It  now  becomes  clear  that  this 
story,  and  the  tale  of  the  crow  of  wood  made  by  the  Jutlanders 
in  mockery  of  Ottar,  is  a  mere  invention  to  account  for  the  name 
Vendel-crow:  the  name,  as  so  often,  has  survived,  and  a  new 
story  has  grown  up  to  give  a  reason  for  the  name. 

What  "Vendel-crow"  originally  imphed  we  cannot  be  quite 
sure.  Apparently  "Crow"  or  "Vendel-crow"  is  used  to  this  day 
as  a  nickname  for  the  inhabitants  of  Swedish  Vendel.  Ottar 
may  have  been  so  called  because  he  was  buried  (possibly  because 
he  hved)  in  Vendel,  not,  Uke  other  members  of  his  race,  his  son 
and  his  father,  at  Old  Uppsala.  But  however  that  may  be, 
what  is  clear  is  that,  as  the  name  passed  from  the  Swedes  to 
those  Norwegian  and  Icelandic  writers  who  have  handed  it  down 

^  This  grave  mound  is  mentioned  as  "Kong  Ottars  Hog"  in  Attartal  for 
Swea  och  Ootha  Kununga  Hus,  by  J.  Peringskiold,  Stockholm,  1725,  p.  13,  and 
earlier,  in  1677,  it  is  mentioned  by  the  same  name  in  some  notes  of  an  anti- 
quarian survey.  That  the  name  "Vendel-crow"  is  now  attached  to  it  is  stated  by 
Dr  Almgren.  These  early  references  seem  conclusive:  little  weight  could,  of 
course,  be  carried  by  the  modern  name  alone,  since  it  might  easily  be  of  learned 
origin.  The  mound  was  opened  in  1914-16,  and  the  contents  showed  it  to  belong 
to  about  500  to  550  a.d.,  which  agrees  excellently  with  the  date  of  Ohthere. 
See  two  articles  in  Fornvdnnen  for  1917:  an  account  of  the  opening  of  the  mound 
by  S.  Lindqvist  entitled  "Ottarshogen  i  Vendel"  (pp.  127-43)  and  a  discussion 
of  early  Swedish  history  in  the  light  of  archaeology,  by  B.  Nerman,  "  YngUnga- 
sagan  i  arkeologisk  belysning"  (esp.  pp.  243-6).  See  also  Bjorkman  in  Nor- 
disk  Tidskrift,  Stockholm,  1917,  p.  169,  and  Eigennamen  im  Beowvlf,  1920, 
pp.  86-99. 

2  See  Appendix  F:  Beoumlf  a,nd  the  Archaeologists,  esp.  p.  356,  below. 


Beowulf  and  the  Archwologists  345 

to  us,  Vendel  of  Sweden  was  naturally  misunderstood  as  the 
more  familiar  Vendel  of  Jutland.    Stjerna's  conjecture  is  con- 
firmed. The  Swedish  king's  nickname,  far  from  pointing  to 
ancient  feuds  between  Jute  and  Swede,  is  shown  to  have  nothing 
whatsoever  to  do  with  Jutland.  <:^/Z 

It  appears,  then,  that  Geatas  is  phonologically  the  equivalent  j  ^ 
of  "Gotar,"  but  not  the  equivalent  of  "Jutes";  that  what  we  ' 
know  of  the  use  of  the  word  "Jutes"  (lotey  etc.)  in  Old  English 
makes  it  incredible  that  a  poem  of  the  length  of  Beowulf  could 
be  written,  concerning  their  heroes  and  their  wars,  without 
even  mentioning  them  by  their  correct  name;  that  in  many 
respects  the  geographical  and  historical  evidence  fits  the  Gotar, 
but  does  not  fit  the  Jutes;  that  the  instances  to  the  contrary, 
in  which  ifc  is  claimed  that  the  geographical  and  historical 
evidence  fits  the  Jutes  but  does  not  fit  the  Gotar,  are  all  found 
on  examination  to  be  either  inconclusive  or  actually  to  favour 
the  Gotar. 

F.     BEOWULF  AND  THE  ARCILEOLOGISTS 

The  peat-bogs  of  Schleswig  and  Denmark  have  yielded  finds 
of  the  first  importance  for  EngHsh  archaeology.  These  "moss- 
finds"  are  great  collections,  chiefly  of  arms  and  accoutrements, 
obviously  deposited  with  intention.  The  first  of  these  great 
discoveries,  that  of  Thorsbjerg,  was  made  in  the  heart  of  ancient 
Angel:  the  site  of  the  next,  Nydam,  also  comes  within  the  area 
probably  occupied  by  either  Angles  or  Jutes;  and  most  of  the 
rest  of  the  "moss-finds"  were  in  the  closest  neighbourhood  of 
the  old  Anglian  home.  The  period  of  the  oldest  deposits,  as  is 
shown  by  the  Roman  coins  found  among  them,  is  hardly  before 
the  third  century  a.d.,  and  some  authorities  would  make  it 
considerably  later. 

An  account  of  these  discoveries  will  be  found  in  Engelhardt's 
Denmark  in  the  Early  Iron  Age^,  1866:  a  volume  which  sum- 

1  By  the  Early  Iron  Age,  Engelhardt  meant  from  250  to  450  a.d.  :  but  more 
recent  Danish  scholars  have  placed  these  deposits  in  the  fifth  century,  with  some 
overlapping  into  the  preceding  and  succeeding  centuries  (Miiller,  Vor  Oldtid, 
561;  Wimmer,  Die  Runenschrift,  301,  etc.).  The  Swedish  archaeologists,  Knut 
Stjeraa  and  0.  Almgren,  agree  with  Engelhardt,  dating  the  finds  between  about 
250  and  450  a.d.  (Stjerna's  Essays,  trans.  Clark  Hall,  p.  149,  and  Introduction, 


346  Beowulf  and  the  ArchsBologists 

marizes  the  results  of  Engelhardt's  investigations  during  th& 
preceding  seven  years.  He  had  pubHshed  in  Copenhagen 
Thorsbjerg  Mosefund,  1863;  Nydam  Mosefund,  1865.  Engel- 
hardt's work  at  Nydam  was  interrupted  by  the  war  of  1864: 
the  finds  had  to  be  ceded  to  Germany,  and  the  exploration  wa» 
continued  by  German  scholars.  Engelhardt  consoled  himself 
that  these  "subsequent  investigations... do  not  seem  to  have 
been  carried  on  with  the  necessary  care  and  intelhgence,"  and 
continued  his  own  researches  within  the  narrowed  frontiers  of 
Denmark,  pubHshing  two  monographs  on  the  mosses  of  Fiinen: 
Kragehul  Mosefund,  1867;  Vimose  Fundet,  1869. 

These  deposits,  however,  obviously  belong  to  a  period  muck 
earher  than  that  in  which  Beowulf  was  written :  indeed  most  of 
them  certainly  belong  to  a  period  earher  than  that  in  which  the 
historic  events  described  in  Beowulf  occurred;  so  that,  close  a& 
is  their  relation  with  Anglian  civilization,  it  is  with  the  civihza- 
tion  of  the  Angles  while  still  on  the  continent. 

The  Archaeology  of  Beowulf  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
special  study  by  Knut  Stjerna,  in  a  series  of  articles  which 
appeared  between  1903  and  his  premature  death  in  1909.  A 
good  service  has  been  done  to  students  of  Beowulf  by  Dr  Clark 
Hall  in  collecting  and  translating  Stjerna's  essays^.  They  are  a 
mine  of  useful  information,  and  the  reproductions  of  articles 
from  Scandinavian  grave-finds,  with  which  they  are  so  copiously 
illustrated,  are  invaluable.  The  magnificent  antiquities  from 
Vendel,  now  in  the  Stockholm  museum,  are  more  particularly 
laid  under  contribution  2.  Dr  Clark  Hall  added  a  most  useful 
"Index  of  things  mentioned  in  Beowulf^,''  well  illustrated. 
Here  again  the  illustrations,  with  few  exceptions,  are  from 
Scandinavian  finds. 

*  Essays  on  questions  connected  vnth  the  O.E.  poem  of  Beowulf,  trans,  and 
ed.  by  John  R.  Clark  Hall,  (Viking  Club),  Coventry.  (Reviews  by  Klaeber, 
J.E.G.Ph.  xm,  167-73,  weighty;  Mawer,  M.L.N,  vm,  242-3;  Athenaeum,  1913, 
I,  459-60;  Archiv,  cxxxn,  238-9;  Schiitte,  A.f.n.F.  xxxm,  64^96,  elaborate.) 

*  An  account  of  these  was  given  at  the  time  by  H.  Stolpe,  who  undertook 
the  excavation.    See  his  Vendelfyndet,  in  the  Antiqvarisk  Tidskrift  for  Sverige, 
vm,  1,  1-34,  and  Hildebrand  (H.)  in  the  same,  35-64  (1884).    Stolpe  did  noi 
live  to  issue  the  definitive  account  of  his  work,  Graffdltet  vid  Vendel,  beskrifvet 
H.  Stolpe  och  T.  J.  Ame,  Stockholm,  1912. 

'  Also  added  as  an  Appendix  to  his  Beowulf  translation,  1911. 


7C, 

1 


Archaeological  argument  for  Scandinavian  origin    347 

Two  weighty  arguments  as  to  the  origin  of  Beowulf  have 
been  based  upon  archaeology.  In  the  first  place  it  has  been 
urged  by  Dr  Clark  Hall  that: 

"If  the  poem  is  read  in  the  light  of  the  evidence  which  Stjerna  has 
marshalled  in  the  essays  as  to  the  profusion  of  gold,  the  prevalence  of 
ring-swords,  of  boar-helmets,  of  ring-corslets,  and  ring-money,  it 
becomes  clear  how  strong  the  distinctively  Scandinavian  colouring  is, 
and  how  comparatively  Httle  of  the  mise-en-scene  must  be  due  to  the 
English  author^." 

Equally,  Prof.  Klaeber  finds  in  Stjerna's  investigations  a 
strong  argument  for  the  Scandinavian  character  of  Beowulf^. 

Now  Stjerna,  very  rightly  and  naturally,  drew  his  illustra- 
tions of  Beowulf  from  those  Scandinavian,  and  especially 
Swedish,  grave-finds  which  he  knew  so  well:  and  very  valuable 
those  illustrations  are.  But  it  does  not  follow,  because  the  one 
archaeologist  who  has  chosen  to  devote  his  knowledge  so  whole- 
heartedly to  the  elucidation  of  Beowulf  was  a  Scandinavian, 
using  Scandinavian  material,  that  therefore  Beowulf  is  Scandi- 
navian. This,  however,  is  the  inference  which  Stjerna  himself 
was  apt  to  draw,  and  which  is  still  being  drawn  from  his  work. 
Stjerna  speaks  of  our  poem  as  a  monument  raised  by  the  Geatas 
to  the  memory  of  their  saga-renowned  king^,  though  he  allows 
that  certain  features  of  the  poem,  such  as  the  dragon-fight  *,  are 
of  Anglo-Saxon  origin. 

Of  course,  it  must  be  allowed  that  accounts  such  as  those  of 
the  fighting  between  Swedes  and  Geatas,  if  they  are  historical 
(and  they  obviously  are),  must  have  originated  from  eye- 
witnesses of  the  Scandinavian  battles:  but  I  doubt  if  there  is 
anything  in  Beowulf  so  purely  Scandinavian  as  to  compel  us  to 
assume  that  any  fine  of  the  story,  in  the  poetical  form  in  which 
we  now  have  it,  was  necessarily  composed  in  Scandinavia.  Even 
if  it  could  be  shown  that  the  conditions  depicted  in  Beowulf  can 
be  better  illustrated  from  the  grave-finds  of  Vendel  in  Sweden 
than  from  Enghsh  diggings,  this  would  not  prove  Beowulf 
Scandinavian.  Modern  scientific  archaeology  is  surely  based  on 
chronology  as  well  as  geography.  The  Enghsh  finds  date  from 

1  Clark  Hall's  Preface  to  Stjema's  Essays,  p.  xx. 

*  J.E.O.Ph.  xra,  1914,  p.  172. 

»  Essays,  p.  239:  of.  p.  84.  «  p.  39. 


348  Beowulf  and  the  Archaeologists 

the  period  before  650  a.d.,  and  the  Vendel  finds  from  the  period 
after.  Beowulf  might  well  show  similarity  rather  with  contem- 
porary art  abroad  than  with  the  art  of  earher  generations  at 
home.  For  intercourse  was  more  general  than  is  always  reahzed. 
It  was  not  merely  trade  and  plunder  which  spread  fashions  from 
nation  to  nation.  There  were  the  presents  of  arms  which  Tacitus 
mentions  as  sent,  not  only  privately,  but  with  public  ceremony, 
from  one  tribe  to  another^.  Similar  presentations  are  indicated 
in  Beowulf^;  we  find  them  equally  at  the  court  of  the  Ostro- 
gothic  Theodoric^;  Charles  the  Great  sent  to  OfEa  of  Mercia 
unum  balteum  et  unum  gladium  huniscum^;  according  to  the 
famous  story  in  the  Heimskringla,  Athelstan  sent  to  Harold 
Fairhair  of  Norway  a  sword  and  belt  arrayed  with  gold  and 
silver;  Athelstan  gave  Harold's  son  Hakon  a  sword  which  was 
the  best  that  ever  came  to  Norway^.  It  is  not  surprising,  then, 
if  we  find  parallels  between  Enghsh  poetry  and  Scandinavian 
grave-finds,  both  apparently  dating  from  about  the  year  700  a.d. 
But  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  any  special  resemblance,  though, 
both  in  Beowulf  and  in  the  Vendel  graves,  there  is  a  profusion 
lacking  in  the  case  of  the  simpler  Anglo-Saxon  tomb-furniture. 

Let  us  examine  the  five  points  of  special  resemblance,  alleged 
by  Dr  Clark  Hall,  on  the  basis  of  Stjerna's  studies. 

"The  profusion  of  gold."  Gold  is  indeed  lavishly  used  in 
Beowulf:  the  golden  treasure  found  in  the  dragon's  lair  was  so 
bulky  that  it  had  to  be  transported  by  waggon.  And,  certainly, 
gold  is  found  in  greater  profusion  in  Swedish  than  in  Enghsh 
graves :  the  most  casual  visitor  to  the  Stockholm  museum  must 
be  impressed  by  the  magnificence  of  the  exhibits  thete.  But, 
granting  gold  to  have  been  rarer  in  England  than  in  Sweden,  I 
cannot  grant  Stjerna's  contention  that  therefore  an  Enghsh 
poet  could  not  have  conceived  the  idea  of  a  vast  gold  hoard  ^; 
or  that,  even  if  the  poet  does  deck  his  warriors  with  gold  some- 
what more  sumptuously  than  was  actually  the  case  in  England,] 

1  Oermania,  cap.  xv.  ^  n  373^  479^ 

^  Cassiodorus,  Variae,  v,  1. 

*  Walter,  Corpus  juris  Germanici  antiqui^  1824,  n,  125. 
^  Heimskringla,  Haraldz  saga,  cap.  38-40. 

•  "The  idea  of  a  gold  hoard  undoubtedly  points  to  the  earlier  version  of  the 
Beoumlf  poem  having  originated  in  Scandmavia.  No  such  'gold  period'  evei 
existed  in  Britain."   Essays,  p.  147. 


Ring-swords  349 

we  can  draw  any  argument  from  it.  For,  if  the  dragon  in  Beowulf 
guards  a  treasure,  so  equally  does  the  typical  dragon  of  Old 
Enghsh  proverbial  lore^.  Beowulf  is  spoken  of  as  gold-wlanc, 
but  the  typical  thegn  in  Finnsburg  is  called  gold-hladen^.  The 
sword  found  by  Beowulf  in  the  hall  of  Grendel's  mother  has  a 
golden  hilt,  but  the  English  proverb  had  it  that  "gold  is  in  its 
place  on  a  man's  sword^. "  Heorot  is  hung  with^golden  tapestry^ 
but  gold-inwoven  fabric  has  been  unearthed  from  Saxon  graves 
at  Taplow,  and  elsewhere  in  England*.  Gold  ghtters  in  other 
poems  quite  as  lavishly  as  in  Beowulf,  sometimes  more  so. 
Widsith  made  a  hobby  of  collecting  golden  beagas.  The  subject  of 
Waldere  is  a  fight  for  treasure.  The  byrnie  of  Waldere^  is  adorned 
with  gold :  so  is  that  of  Holof ernes  in  Judith^,  so  is  that  of  the 
typical  warrior  in  the  Elene'^,  Are  all  these  poems  Scandinavian  ? 
"  The  prevalence  of  ring-swords."  We  know  that  swords  were 
sometimes  fitted  with  a  ring  in  the  hilt  ^.  It  is  not  clear  whether 
the  object  of  this  ring  was  to  fasten  the  hilt  by  a  strap  to  the 
wrist,  for  convenience  in  fighting  (as  has  been  the  custom  with 
the  cavalry  sword  in  modern  times)  or  whether  it  was  used  to 
attach  the  "peace  bands,"  by  which  the  hilt  of  the  sword  was 
sometimes  fixed  to  the  scabbard,  when  only  being  worn  cere- 
monially^. The  word  hring-msel,  apphed  three  times  to  the  sword 
in  Beowulf,  has  been  interpretated  as  a  reference  to  these  "ring- 
swords,"  though  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  it  may  refer  only 
to  the  damascening  of  the  sword  with  a  ringed  pattern  ^^. 
Assuming  that  the  reference  in  Beowulf  is  to  a  "ring-sword," 
Stjerna  illustrates  the  allusion  from  seven  ring-swords,  or  frag- 
ments of  ring-swords,  found  in  Sweden.  But,  as  Dr  Clark  Hall 
himself  points  out  (whilst  oddly  enough  accepting  this  argument 

1  Cottonian  Onomic  Verses,  11.  26-7.  2  j  14^ 

*  Exeter  Onomic  Verses,  1.  126.  *  Baldwin  Brown,  ni,  385,  iv,  640. 
6  B.  1.  19.                           •  1.  339.  7  1.  991. 

•  Cf.  Falk,  Altnordische  Waffenhinde,  28. 

»  I  would  suggest  this  as  the  more  likely  because,  if  the  ring  were  inserted 
for  a  practical  purpose,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  it  later  survived  in  the  form 
of  a  mere  knob,  which  is  neither  useful  nor  ornamental.  But  if  it  were  used  to 
attach  the  symbolical  "peace  bands,"  it  may  have  been  retained,  in  a  "fossilized 
form,"  with  a  symbolical  meaning. 

^"  Most  editors  indeed  do  take  it  in  this  sense,  though  recently  Schucking 
has  adopted  Stjema's  explanation  of  "ring-sword."  In  1.  322,  Falk  (27)  takes 
hring-lren  to  refer  to  a  "ring-adomed  sword,"  though  it  may  well  mean  a 
ring-bjmiie. 


350  Beowulf  and  the  Archwologists 

as  proof  of  the  Scandinavian  colouring  of  Beowulf)  four  ring- 
swords  at  least  have  been  found  in  England^.  And  these  EngHsh 
swords  are  real  ring-swords;  that  is  to  say,  the  pommel  is  fur- 
nished with  a  ring,  within  which  another  ring  moves  (in  the 
oldest  type  of  sword)  quite  freely.  This  freedom  of  movement 
seems,  however,  to  be  gradually  restricted,  and  in  one  of  these 
EngHsh  swords  the  two  rings  are  made  in  one  and  the  same  piece. 
In  the  Swedish  swords,  however,  this  restriction  is  carried 
further,  and  the  two  rings  are  represented  by  a  knob  growing 
out  of  a  circular  base.  Another  sword  of  this  "knob "-type  has 
recently  been  found  in  a  Frankish  tomb  2,  and  yet  another  in 
the  Rhineland^.  It  seems  to  be  agreed  among  archaeologists 
that  the  EngHsh  type,  as  found  in  Kent,  is  the  original,  and  that 
the  Swedish  and  continental  "ring-swords"  are  merely  imita- 
tions, in  which  the  ring  has  become  conventionaHzed  into  a 
knob*.  But,  if  so,  how  can  the  mention  of  a  ring-sword 
in  Beowulf  (if  indeed  that  be  the  meaning  of  hring-mael) 
prove  Scandinavian  colouring?  If  it  proved  anything  (which 
it  does  not)  it  would  tend  to  prove  the  reverse,  and  to 
locate  Beowulf  in  Kent,  where  the  true  ring-swords  have  been 
found. 

"The  prevalence  of  boar-helmets."  It  is  true  that  several 
representations  of  warriors  wearing  boar-helmets  have  been 
found  in  Scandinavia.    But  the  only  certainly  Anglo-Saxon 

1  Actually,  I  believe,  more:  for  two  ring -swords  were  found  at  Faversham, 
and  are  now  in  the  British  Museum.  For  an  account  of  one  of  them  see  Roach 
Smith,  Collectanea  Antiqua,  1868,  vol.  vi,  139.  In  this  specimen  both  the  fixed 
ring  and  the  ring  which  moves  within  it  are  complete  circles.  But  in  the  Gilton 
sword  {Archseologia,  xxx,  132)  and  in  the  sword  discovered  at  Bifrons  (Archseo- 
logia  Cantiana,  x,  312)  one  of  the  rings  no  longer  forms  a  complete  circle,  and 
in  the  sword  discovered  at  Sarre  {Archseol.  Cant,  vi,  172)  the  rings  are  fixed 
together,  and  one  of  them  has  little  resemblance  to  a  ring  at  all. 

2  At  Concevreux.  It  is  described  by  M.  Jules  Pilloy  in  Memoires  de  la 
Societe  Academique  de  St  Quentin,  4^  Ser.  torn,  xvi,  1913;  see  esp.  pp.  36-7. 

3  See  Lindenschmit,  "  Germanisches  Schwert  mit  ungewohnlicher  Bildung 
des  Knaufes,"  in  Die  Altertumer  unserer  heidnischen  Vorzeit,  v  Bd.,  v  Heft, 
Taf.  30,  p.  165,  Mainz,  1905. 

*  Salin-  has  no  doubt  that  the  Swedish  type  from  Uppland  (his  figure  252) 
is  later  than  even  the  latest  type  of  English  ring-sword  (the  Sarre  pommel,  251) 
which  is  itself  later  than  the  Faversham  (249)  or  Bifrons  (250)  pommel.  See 
Salin  (B.),  Die  Altgermanische  Thierornamentik,  Stockholm,  1904,  p.  101.  The 
same  conclusion  is  arrived  at  by  Lindenschmit:  "Die  urspriingliche  Form  ist 
wohl  in  dem,  unter  Nr.  249  von  Salin  abgebildeten  Schwertknopf  aus  Kent  zu 
sehen";  and  even  more  emphatically  by  Pilloy,  who  pronounces  the  Swedish 
Vendel  sword  both  on  account  of  its  "ring"  and  other  characteristics,  as 
"inspiree  par  un  modele  venu  de  cette  contree  [Angleterre]." 


I 


Boar-hdmetSj  ring-corslets  and  ring-money         351 

helmet  yet  found  in  England  has  a  boar-crest i;  and  this  is,  I 
beheve,  the  only  actual  boar-helmet  yet  found.  How  then  can 
the  boar-helmets  of  Beowulf  show  Scandinavian  rather  than 
Anglo-Saxon  origin? 

"The  prevalence  of  ring^corslets."  It  is  true  that  only  one 
trace  of  a  byrnie,  and  that  apparently  not  of  ring-mail,  has  so 
far  been  found  in  an  Anglo-Saxon  grave.  (We  have  somewhat 
more  abundant  remains  from  the  period  prior  to  the  migration 
to  England :  a  pecuharly  fine  corslet  of  ring-mail,  with  remains 
of  some  nine  others,  was  found  in  the  moss  at  Thorsbjerg^  in 
the  midst  of  the  ancient  Anghan  continental  home;  and  other 
ring-corslets  have  been  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Angel,  at 
Vimose^  in  Fiinen.)  But,  for  the  period  when  Beowulf  must 
have  been  composed,  the  ring-corslet  is  almost  as  rare  in 
Scandinavia  as  in  England*;  the  artist,  however,  seems  to  be 
indicating  a  byrnie  upon  many  of  the  warriors  depicted  on  the 
Vendel  helm  (Grave  14:  seventh  century).  Equally,  in  England, 
warriors  are  represented  on  the  Franks  Casket  as  wearing  the 
byrnie :  also  the  laws  of  Ine  (688-95)  make  it  clear  that  the  byrnie 
was  by  no  means  unknown^.  Other  Old  Enghsh  poems,  certainly 
not  Scandinavian,  mention  the  ring-byrnie.  How  then  can  the 
mention  of  it  in  Beowulf  be  a  proof  of  Scandinavian  origin  ? 

"The  prevalence  of  ring-money."  Before  minted  money 
became  current,  rings  were  used  everywhere  among  the  Teutonic 
peoples.  Gold  rings,  intertwined  so  as  to  form  a  chain,  have  been 
found  throughout  Scandinavia,  presumably  for  use  as  a  medium 
of  exchange.  The  term  locenra  beaga  (gen.  plu.)  occurs  in  Beowulf, 
and  this  is  interpreted  by  Stjerna  as  "rings  intertwined  or  locked 
together^."  But  locen  in  Beowulf  need  not  have  the  meaning  of 
"intertwined";  it  occurs  elsewhere  in  Old  Enghsh  of  a  single 
jewel,  sincgim  locen'^.   Further,  even  if  locen  does  mean  "inter- 

1  The  Benty  Grange  helmet;  see  below,  p.  368. 

2  Depicted  by  Clark  HaU,  Stjema's  Essays,  p.  258. 

3  Clark  Hall's  Beowulf,  p.  227. 

*  "Von  Skandinavien  gibt  es  aus  der  Volkerwanderungszeit  und  Wikinger- 
epoche  keine  archaologischen  Anhaltspunkte  fiir  das  Tragen  des  Panzers, 
weder  aus  Funden  noch  aus  Darstellungen,"  Max  Ebert  in  Hoops'  Reallexikoriy 
m,  395(1915-16).  But  surely  this  is  too  sweeping.  Fragments  of  an  iron  byrnie, 
made  of  small  rings  fastened  together,  were  found  in  the  Vendel  grave  12 
(seventh  century).  See  Graff altet  vid  Vendel,  beskrifvet  afU.  Stolpe  och  T.  J.  Arue, 
pp.  49,  60,  plates  xl,  xli,  xlii. 

^  54-1.    Liebermann,  p.  114.  «  Essays,  34-5.  '  Eleney  264. 


352  Beowtdf  and  the  Archaeologists 

twined,"  sucli  intertwined  rings  are  not  limited  to  Scandinavia 
proper.  They  have  been  found  in  Schleswig^.  And  almost  the 
very  phrase  in  Beowulf,  londes  ne  locenra  heaga^,  recurs  in  the 
Andreas,  The  phrase  there  may  be  imitated  from  Beowulf,  but, 
equally,  the  phrase  in  Beowulf  may  be  imitated  from  some 
earher  poem.  In  fact,  it  is  part  of  the  traditional  poetic  diction  r 
but  its  occurrence  in  the  Andreas  shows  that  it  cannot  be  used 
as  an  argument  of  Scandinavian  origin. 

Whilst,  therefore,  accepting  with  gratitude  the  numerous 
illustrations  which  St jerna  has  drawn  from  Scandinavian  grave- 
finds,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  read  a  Scandinavian  colouring 
into  features  of  Beowulf  which  are  at  least  as  much  Enghsh  as 
Scandinavian,  such  as  the  ring-sword  or  the  boar-helmet  or  the 
ring-corslet. 

There  is,  as  is  noted  above,  a  certain  atmosphere  of  profusion 
and  wealth  about  some  Scandinavian  grave-finds,  which  corre- 
sponds much  more  nearly  with  the  wealthy  Hfe  depicted  in 
Beowulf  than  does  the  comparatively  meagre  tomb-furniture  of 
England.  But  we  must  remember  that,  after  the  spread  of 
Christianity  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventh  century,  the  custom 
of  burying  articles  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead  naturally  ceased, 
or  almost  ceased,  in  England.  Scandinavia  continued  heathen 
for  another  four  hundred  years,  and  it  was  during  these  years 
that  the  most  magnificent  deposits  were  made.  As  St  jerna  him- 
self points  out,  "a  steadily  increasing  luxury  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  graves  "  is  to  be  found  in  Scandinavia  in  these  centuries 
before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  there.  When  we  find  in 
Scandinavia  things  (complete  ships,  for  example)  which  we  do 
not  find  in  England,  we  owe  this,  partly  to  the  nature  of  the 
soil  in  which  they  were  embedded,  but  also  to  the  continuance 
of  such  burial  ciistoms  after  they  had  died  out  in  England. 

Helm  and  byrnie  were  not  necessarily  unknown,  or  even  very 
rare  in  England,  simply  because  it  was  not  the  custom  to  bury 
them  with  the  dead.  On  the  other  hand,  the  frequent  mention 
of  them  in  Beowulf  does  not  imply  that  they  were  common :  for 

^  Engelhardt,  Denmark  in  the  Early  Iron  Age,  p.  66.  ^  Andreas,  303. 


Such  things  not  proof  of  Scandinavian  origin       353 

Beowulf  deals  only  with  the  aristocratic  adherents  of  a  court, 
and  even  in  Beowulf  fine  specimens  of  the  helm  and  byrnie  are 
spoken  of  as  things  which  a  king  seeks  far  and  wide  to  procure 
for  his  retainers^.  We  cannot,  therefore,  argue  that  there  is  any 
discrepancy.  However,  if  we  do  so  argue,  it  would  merely  prove, 
not  that  Beowulf  is  Scandinavian  as  opposed  to  English,  but 
that  it  is  comparatively  late  in  date.  Tacitus  emphasizes  the 
fact  that  spear  and  shield  were  the  Teutonic  weapons,  that 
helmet  and  corslet  were  hardly  known^.  Pagan  graves  show 
that  at  any  rate  they  were  hardly  known  as  tomb-furniture  in 
England  in  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  early  seventh  centuries.  The 
introduction  of  Christianity,  and  the  intercourse  with  the  South 
which  it  involved,  certainly  led  to  the  growth  of  pomp  and 
wealth  in  England,  till  the  early  eighth  century  became  'Hhe 
golden  age  of  Anglo-Saxon  England." 

It  might  therefore  conceivably  be  argued  that  Beowulf 
reflects  the  comparative  abundance  of  early  Christian  England, 
as  opposed  to  the  more  primitive  heathen  simpHcity;  but  to 
argue  a  Scandinavian  origin  from  the  profusion  of  Beowulf 
admits  of  an  easy  reductio  ad  absurdum.  For  the  same  argu- 
ments would  prove  a  heathen,  Scandinavian  origin  for  the 
Andreas,  the  Elene,  the  Exodus,  or  even  for  the  Franks  Casket, 
despite  its  Anglo-Saxon  inscription  and  Christian  carvings. 

However,  though  the  absence  of  helm  and  byrnie  from 
Anglo-Saxon  graves  does  not  prove  that  these  arms  were  not 
used  by  the  living  in  heathen  times,  one  thing  it  assuredly  does 
prove :  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  heathen  times  did  not  sacrifice 
helm  and  byrnie  recklessly  in  funeral  pomp.  And  this  brings  us 
to  the  second  argument  as  to  the  origin  of  Beowulf  which  has 
been  based  on  archaeology. 

Something  has  been  said  above  of  this  second  contention ^ 
— that  the  accuracy  of  the  account  of  Beowulf 's  funeral  is  con- 
firmed in  every  point  by  archaeological  evidence:  that  it  must 

1  1.  2869. 

2  "Few  have  corslets  and  onlv  one  here  and  there  a  hehnet"  {Oermania,  6). 
In  the  Annals  (ii,  14)  Tacitus  makes  Germanicus  roundly  deny  the  use  of  either 
by  the  Germans:  non  loricam  Germano,  non  galeam. 

•  See  above,  p.  124. 

c.  B.  23 


354  Beowulf  and  the  A  rchaeologists 

therefore  have  been  composed  within  Hving  memory  of  a  time 
when  ceremonies  of  this  kind  were  still  actually  in  use  in  Eng- 
land :  and  that  therefore  we  cannot  date  Beowulf  later  than  the 
third  or  fourth  decade  of  the  seventh  century. 

To  begin  with;  the  pyre  in  Beowulf  \^  represented  as  hung 
with  helmets,  bright  byrnies,  and  shields.  Now  it  is  impossible 
to  say  exactly  how  the  funeral  pyres  were  equipped  in  England. 
But  we  do  know  how  the  buried  bodies  were  equipped.  And 
(although  inhumation  cemeteries  are  much  more  common  than 
cremation  cemeteries)  all  the  graves  that  have  been  opened 
have  so  far  yielded  only  one  case  of  a  helmet  and  byrnie  being 
buried  with  the  warrior,  and  one  other  very  doubtful  case  of  a 
helmet  without  the  byrnie.  Abroad,  instances  are  somewhat 
more  common,  but  still  of  great  rarity.  For  such  things  could 
ill  be  spared.  Charles  the  Great  forbade  the  export  of  byrnies 
from  his  dominions.  Worn  by  picked  champions  fighting  in  the 
forefront,  they  might  well  decide  the  issue  of  a  battle.  In  the 
mounds  where  we  have  reason  to  think  that  the  great  chiefs 
mentioned  in  Beowulf,  Eadgils  or  Ohthere,  he  buried,  any  trace 
of  weapons  was  conspicuously  absent  among  the  burnt  remains. 
Nevertheless,  the  behef  that  his  armour  would  be  useful  to  the 
champion  in  the  next  life,  joined  perhaps  with  a  feehng  that  it 
was  unlucky,  or  unfair  on  the  part  of  the  survivor  to  deprive 
the  dead  of  his  personal  weapons,  led  in  heathen  times  to  the 
occasional  burial  of  these  treasures  with  the  warrior  who  owned 
them.  The  fifth  century  tomb  of  Childeric  I,  when  discovered 
twelve  centuries  later,  was  found  magnificently  furnished — the 
prince  had  been  buried  with  treasure  and  much  equipment^, 
sword,  scramasax^,  axe,  spear.  But  these  were  his  own.  Simi- 
larly, piety  might  have  demanded  that  Beowulf  should  be  burnt 
with  his  full  equipment.  But  would  the  pyre  have  been  hung 
with  helmets  and  byrnies?  Whose?  Were  the  thegns  asked  to 
sacrifice  theirs,  and  go  naked  into  the  next  fight  in  honour  of 
their  lord?  If  so,  what  archaeological  authority  have  we  for  such 
a  custom  in  England? 

^  See  ChiflQet,  J.  J.,  Anastasis  Childerici  I...sive  thesaurus  sepulchraliSf 
Antverpiae,  Plantin,  1655. 

2  That  both  sword  and  scramasax  were  buried  with  Childeric  is  shown  by 
Lindenschmit,  Handhuch,  i,  236-9 :  see  also  pp.  68  etc. 


Beowulf  s  funeral  rites  355 

Then  the  barrow  is  built,  and  the  vast  treasure  of  the  dragon 
(which  included  "many  a  helmet^")  placed  in  it.  Now  there 
are  instances  of  articles  which  have  not  passed  through  the  fire 
being  placed  in  or  upon  or  around  an  urn  with  the  cremated 
bones^.  But  is  there  any  instance  of  the  thing  being  done  on 
this  scale — of  a  wholesale  burning  of  helmets  and  byrnies 
followed  by  a  burial  of  huge  treasure?  If  so,  one  would  Hke  to 
know  when,  and  where.  If  not,  how  can  it  be  argued  that  the 
account  in  Beownlf  is  one  of  which  "the  accuracy  is  confirmed 
in  every  point  by  archaeological  or  contemporary  hterary 
evidence?"  Rather  we  must  say,  with  Knut  Stjerna,  that  it 
is  "too  much  of  a  good  thing ^." 

For  the  antiquities  of  Anglo-Saxon  England,  the  student  should  con- 
sult the  Victoria  County  History.  The  two  splendid  volumes  of  Professor 
G.  Baldwin  Brown  on  Saxon  Art  and  Industry  in  the  Pagan  Period*^  at 
length  enable  the  general  reader  to  get  a  survey  of  the  essential  facts,  for 
which  up  to  now  he  has  had  to  have  recourse  to  innumerable  scattered 
treatises.  The  Archseology  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Settlements  by  Mr  E.  Thurlow 
Leeds  will  also  be  found  helpful, 

Side-Hghts  from  the  field  of  Teutonic  antiquities  in  general  can  be  got 
from  Prof.  Baldwin  Brown's  Arts  and  Crafts  of  our  Teutonic  Forefathers, 
1910,  and  from  Lindenschmit's  Handbuch  der  deutschen  Alterthumskunde, 
I.  Theil:  Die  Alterthumer  der  Merovingischen  Zeit  (Braunschweig,  1880-89), 
a  book  which  is  still  indispensable.  Hoops'  Reallexikon  der  germanischen 
Altertumskunde,  Strassburg,  1911-19,  4  vols.,  includes  a  large  number  of 
contributions  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  student  of  Beowulf,  both 
upon  archaeological  and  other  subjects.  By  the  completion^  of  this  most 
valuable  work,  amid  heart-breaking  difficulties.  Prof.  Hoops  has  placed 
all  students  under  a  great  obligation. 

Much  help  can  be  got  from  an  examination  of  the  antiquities  of  Teutonic 
countries  other  than  England.  The  following  books  are  useful— for  Norway: 

1  I.  2762-3. 

*  Worsaae,  Nordiske  Oldsager,  Kjobenhavn,  1859;  see  No.  499;  Roach  Smith, 
Collectanea  Antiqua,  1852,  ii,  164;  Montelius,  Antiq.  Sued.  1873  No.  294 
(p.  184), 

'  Essays,  p.  198.  See  also  above,  p.  124.  Mr  Reginald  Smith  writes  to  me: 
''Unbumt  objects  with  cremated  burials  in  prehistoric  times  (Bronze,  Early 
and  Late  Iron  Ages)  are  the  exception,  and  are  probably  accidental  survivals 
from  the  funeral  pyre.  In  such  an  interpretation  of  Beoumlf  I  agree  with  the 
late  Knut  Stjerna,  who  was  an  archaeologist  of  much  experience." 

*  Forming  vols.  3  and  4  of  The  Arts  in  Early  England,  1903-15. 
It  was,  however,  necessary  to  leave  over  for  a  supplementary  volume 

of  the  contributions  most  interesting  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
arohsBology  of  Beoumlf:  e.g.  spatha,  speer,  schild. 

23—2 


356  Beowulf  and  the  Archwologists 

Gustafson  (G.),  Norges  Oldtid,  1906;  for  Denmark:  Miiller  (S.),  Vor  Oldtid, 
1897;  for  Sweden:  Montelius  (0.),  Civilization  of  Sweden  in  Heathen  Times ^ 
1888,  Kulturgeschichte  Schwedens,  1906;  for  Schleswig:  Mestorf  (J.),  Vor- 
geschichtliche  AUerthiimer  aus  Schlesvng;  for  the  Germanic  nations  in  their 
wanderings  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Roman  Empire:  Hampel  (J.),  Alter - 
thumer  desfriihen  Miitelalters  in  Ungarn,  3  Bde,  1905;  for  Germanic  remains 
in  Gaul:  Barriere-.Flavy  (M.  C),  Les  Arts  industriels  des  peuples  barbares 
de  la  Gaule  du  V^  au  VIII"^  sikle,  3  tom.  1901. 

Somewhat  popular  accounts,  and  now  rather  out  of  date,  are  the  two 
South  Kensington  handbooks:  Worsaae  (J.  J.  A.),  Industrial  Arts  of  Den- 
mark, 1882,  and  Hildebrand  (H.),  Industrial  Arts  of  Scandinavia,  1883. 

Scandinavian  Burial  Mounds 

The  three  great  "Kings'  Mounds"  at  Old  Uppsala  were  explored  between 
1847  and  1874:  cremated  remains  from  them  can  be  seen  in  the  Stockholm 
Museum.  An  account  of  the  tunnelling,  and  of  the  complicated  structure 
of  the  mounds,  was  given  in  1876  by  the  Swedish  State- Antiquary i.  From 
these  finds  Knut  Stjerna  dated  the  oldest  of  the  "Kings'  Mounds"  about 
500A.D.2,  and  the  others  somewhat  later.  Now,  as  we  are  definitely  told 
that  Athils  (Eadgils)  and  the  two  kings  who  figure  in  the  fist  of  Swedish 
monarchs  as  his  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  (Aun  and  Egil)  were 
"laid  in  mound"  at  Uppsala^,  and  as  the  chronology  agrees,  it  seems  only 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  three  Kings'  Mounds  were  raised  over  these 
three  kings*. 

That  Athils'  father  Ottar  (Ohthere)  was  not  regarded  as  having  been 
buried  at  Uppsala  is  abundantly  clear  from  the  account  given  of  his  death, 
and  of  his  nickname  Vendel-crow  \  A  mound  near  Vendel  north  of  Uppsala 
is  known  by  his  name.  Such  names  are  often  the  result  of  quite  modern 
antiquarian  conjecture:  but  that  such  is  not  the  case  here  was  proved  by 
the  recent  discovery  that  an  antiquarian  survey  (preserved  in  MS  in  the 
Royal  Library  at  Stockholm)  dating  from  1677,  mentions  in  Vendel  "widh 
Hussby,  [en]  stor  jorde  hogh,  som  heeter  Otters  hogen^"  An  exploration 
of  Ottar' s  mound  showed  a  striking  similarity  with  the  Uppsala  mounds. 
The  structure  was  the  same,  a  cairn  of  stones  covered  over  with  earth;  the 

^  B.  E.  Hildebrand,  Grafhogarne  vid  Oamla  Upsala,  Kongl.  Vitterhets  Historie 
och  Antiqmtets  Akademiens  Manadsblad,  1875-7,  pp.  250-60. 

2  Fasta  fornldmningar  i  Beovulf,  in  Antiqvariak  Tidskrift  for  Sverige,  xvin, 
48-64. 

8  Heimshringla :  Ynglingasaga,  cap.  26,  26,  29. 

*  See  B.  Nerman,  Vilka  konungar  ligga  i  Uppsala  hogar?  Uppsala,  1913, 
and  the  same  scholar's  Ynglingasagan  i  arkeologisk  belysning,  in  Fornvdnnen 
1917,  226-61. 

^  Heimshringla:  Ynglingasaga,  cap.  27. 

«  A  discovery  made  by  Otto  v.  Friesen  in  1910:  see  S.  Lindqvist  in  Fern- 
vannen,  1917,  129.  Two  years  earlier  (1675)  "Utters  bogen  i  Wandell"  is 
mentioned  in  connection  with  an  investigation  into  witchcraft.  See  Linderholm, 
Vendelshogens  konunganamn,  in  Namn  och  Bygd,  vn,  1919,  36,  40. 


Weapons — The  sword  357 

cremated  remains  were  similar,  there  were  abundant  traces  of  burnt  animals, 
a  comb,  half -spherical  draughts  with  two  round  holes  bored  in  the  flat  side, 
above  aU,  there  was  in  neither  case  any  trace  of  weapons.  In  Ottar's  mound 
a  gold  Byzantine  coin  was  found,  pierced,  having  evidently  been  used  as 
an  ornament.  It  can  be  dated  477-8;  it  is  much  worn,  but  such  coins 
seldom  remained  in  the  North  in  use  for  a  century  after  their  minting^. 
Ottar's  mound  obviously,  then,  belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  Uppsala 
mounds,  and  confirms  the  date  attributed  by  Stjema  to  the  oldest  of  those 
mounds,  about  500  a.d. 

Weafons 

For  weapons  in  general  see^  Lehmann  (H.),  Vher  die  Waff  en  im  angel- 
sdchsischen  Beoumlfliede,  in  Germaniay  xxxi,  486-97;  Keller  (May  L.),  The 
Anglo-Saxon  weapon  naw.es  treated  archmologically  and  etymologicallyy 
Heidelberg,  1906  {Anglistische  Forschungen,  xv:  cf.  Holthausen,  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xvni,  65-9,  Binz,  Litteraturhlatt,  xxxi,  98-100);  J  Wagner  (R.),  Die 
Angriffswaffen  der  Angelsdchsischen,  Diss.,  Konigsberg;  and  especially 
Falk  (H.),  Altnordische  Waffenkunde,  in  Videnskapsselskapets  Skrifter, 
Hist.-Filos.  Klasse,  1914,  Kristiania. 

The  Sword.  The  sword  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  pagan  period  (from  the 
fifth  to  the  seventh  century)  "is  deficient  in  quality  as  a  blade,  and  also... 
in  the  character  of  its  hilt^."  In  this  it  contrasts  with  the  sword  found  in 
the  peat-bogs  of  Schleswig  from  an  earlier  period:  "these  swords  of  the 
Schleswig  moss-finds  are  much  better  weapons^,*"  as  well  as  with  the  later 
Viking  sword  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  which  "is  a  remarkably 
effective  and  well-considered  implement*."  It  has  been  suggested  that 
both  the  earlier  Schleswig  swords  and  the  later  Viking  swords  (which  bear 
a  considerable  likeness  to  each  other,  as  against  the  inferior  Anglo-Saxon 
sword)  are  the  product  of  intercourse  with  Romanized  peoples^,  whilst  the 
typical  Anglo-Saxon  sword  "may  represent  an  independent  Germanic 
effort  at  sword  making®."  However  this  may  be,  it  is  noteworthy  that 
nowhere  in  Beowulf  do  we  have  any  hint  of  the  skill  of  any  sword-smith 
who  is  regarded  as  contemporary.  A  good  sword  is  always  "an  old  heir- 
loom," "an  ancient  treasure'."  The  sword  of  Wiglaf,  which  had  belonged 
to  Eanmund,   or  the  sword  with  which  Eofor  slays  Ongentheow,   are 

1  For  a  preliminary  account  of  the  discovery,  see  Ottarshogen  i  Vendd,  by 
S.  Lindqvist  in  Fornvdnnen,  1917,  127-^3,  and  for  discussion  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject, B.  Nerman,  Ottar  Vendelkraku  och  Ottarshogen  %  Vendd,  in  Uppland* 
Fornminnesforeninga  Tidskrift,  vn,  309-34. 

2  Baldwin  Brown,  m,  216.  a  213.  *  218. 

'  So  Baldwin  Brown,  Hi,  213;  Lorange,  Den  Yngre  Jemaldera  Svserd, 
Bergen,  1889,  passim. 

«  Baldwin  Brown,  in,  215. 

'  It  is  somewhat  similar  in  Norse  literature,  where  swords  are  constantly 
indicated  as  either  inherited  from  of  old,  or  coming  from  abroad:  cf.  Falk,  38-41. 


358  Beoimilf  and  the  Archmologists 

described  by  the  phrase  ealdsweord  eotenisc,  as  if  they  were  weapons  of 
which  the  secret  and  origin  had  been  lost — indeed  the  same  phrase  is  applied 
to  the  magic  sword  which  Beowulf  finds  in  the  hall  of  Grendel's  mother. 

The  blade  of  these  ancestral  swords  was  sometimes  damascened  or 
adorned  with  wave-like  patterns^.  The  swords  of  the  Schleswig  moss-finds 
are  almost  all  thus  adorned  with  a  variegated  surface,  as  often  are  the 
later  Viking  swords;  but  those  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  graves  are  not.  Is  it 
fanciful  to  suggest  that  the  reference  to  damascening  is  a  tradition  coming 
down  from  the  time  of  the  earher  sword  as  found  in  the  Nydam  moss  ?  A 
few  early  swords  might  have  been  preserved  among  the  invaders  as  family 
heirlooms,  too  precious  to  be  buried  with  the  owner,  as  the  product  of  the 
local  weapon-smith  was. 

See,  for  a  full  discussion  of  the  sword  in  Becmmlj,  Stjerna,  Hjdlmar  och 
svdrd  i  Beovulf  {Studier  tilldgnade  0.  Montelius,  Stockholm,  pp.  99-120 
=  Essays,  transl.  Clark  Hall,  pp.  1-32).  The  standard  treatise  on  the  sword, 
Ben  Yngre  Jernalders  Sveerd,  Bergen,  1889,  by  A.  L.  Lorange,  deals  mainly 
with  a  rather  later  period. 

The  Helmet.  The  helmet  found  at  Benty  Grange  in  Derbyshire  in 
1848  is  now  in  the  Sheffield  Museum^:  little  remains  except  the  boar-crest, 
the  nose-piece,  and  the  framework  of  iron  ribs  radiating  from  the  crown, 
and  fixed  to  a  circle  of  iron  surrounding  the  brow  (perhaps  the  fremvrdsn 
of  Beowulf,  1451).  Mr  Bateman,  the  discoverer,  described  the  helmet  as 
"coated  with  narrow  plates  of  horn,  running  in  a  diagonal  direction  from 
the  ribs,  so  as  to  form  a  herring-bone  pattern;  the  ends  were  secured  by 
strips  of  horn,  radiating  in  like  manner  as  the  iron  ribs,  to  which  they 
were  riveted  at  intervals  of  about  an  inch  and  a  half:  all  the  rivets  had 
ornamented  heads  of  silver  on  the  outside,  and  on  the  front  rib  is  a  small 
cross  of  the  same  metal.  Upon  the  top  or  crown  of  the  helmet,  is  an 
elongated  oval  brass  plate,  upon  which  stands  the  figure  of  an  animal, 
carved  in  iron,  now  much  rusted,  but  stiU  a  very  good  representation  of 
a  pig:  it  has  bronze  eyes^."  Helmets  of  very  similar  construction,  but 
without  the  boar,  have  been  found  on  the  Continent  and  in  Scandinavia 
(Vendel,  Grave  14,  late  seventh  century).   The  continental  helmets  often 

1  Beoitmlf,  1489,  wsegsweord;  of.  Vsegir  as  a  sword-name  in  the  Thulur.  In 
11.  1521,  1564,  2037,  hringmsel  may  refer  to  the  ring  in  the  hilt,  and  terms  like 
vmnden-  are  more  likely  to  refer  to  the  serpentine  ornament  of  the  hilt.  This 
must  be  the  case  with  toyrm-fdh  (1698)  as  it  is  a  question  of  the  hilt  alone. 
Stjerna  (p.  lll=Essays,  20)  and  others  take  dter-tdnum  fdh  (1459)  as  referring 
to  the  damascened  pattern  (of.  eggjar...eitrdropom  innanfdpar;  Brat  of  Sigurdfar- 
kviffu).  It  is  suggested  however  by  Talk  (p.  17)  that  tan  here  refers  to  an  edge 
welded-on:  the  Icelandic  egg-teinn. 

2  The  only  certainly  Anglo-Saxon  helmet  as  yet  discovered:  traces  of  what 
may  have  been  a  similar  head-piece  were  found  near  Cheltenham :  Roach  Smith, 
Collectanea  Antiqua,  n,  1852,  238. 

*  Coll.  Ant.  n,  1852,  239;  Bateman,  Ten  Years^  Diggings,  30;  Catalogue  of 
the  Antiquities  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Thomas  Bateman,  Bakewell,  1855. 


The  Helmet  359 

stand  higher^  than  the  Benty  Grange  or  Vendel  specimens,  being  sometimes 
quite  conical  (cf.  the  epithet  "war-steep,"  heatfo-steap,  Beoivulf).  Many  of 
the  continental  helmets  are  provided  with  cheek-protections,  and  these 
also  appear  in  the  Scandinavian  representations  of  warriors  on  the  Torslunda 
plates  and  elsewhere.  These  side  pieces  have  become  detached  from  the 
magnificent  Vendel  helmet,  which  is  often  shown  in  engravings  without 
them^,  but  they  can  be  seen  in  the  Stockholm  Museum^.  If  it  ever  possessed 
them,  the  Benty  Grange  helmet  has  lost  these  side  pieces  Such  cheek - 
protections  are,  however,  represented,  together  with  the  nose-protection, 
on  the  head  of  one  of  the  warriors  depicted  on  the  Franks  Casket.  In  the 
Vendel  helms,  the  nose-pieces  were  connected  under  the  eyes  with  the  rim 
of  the  helmet,  so  as  to  form  a  mask^;  the  helmet  in  Beoumlf  is  frequently 
spoken  of  as  the  battle-mask*. 

Both  helmet  and  boar-crest  were  sometimes  gold-adorned^:  the  golden 
boar  was  a  symbol  of  the  god  Freyr:  some  magic  protective  power  is  still, 
in  Beowulf  ^f  felt  to  adhere  to  these  swine-Ukenesses,  as  it  was  in  the  days 
of  Tacitus'. 

In  Scandinavia,  the  Torslunda  plates  show  the  helmet  with  a  boar- 
crest:  the  Vendel  helmet  has  representations  of  warriors  whose  crests  have 
an  animal's  head  tailing  off  to  a  mere  rim  or  roll:  this  may  be  the  tualu  or 
wala  which  keeps  watch  over  the  head  in  Beowulp.  The  helmet  was  bound 
fast  to  the  head* ;  exactly  how,  we  do  not  know. 

See  Lehmann  (H.),  Briinne  und  Helm  im  ags.  Beoumlfliede  (Gottingen 
Diss.,  Leipzig;  cf.  Wiilker,  Anglia,  vni,  Anzeiger,  167-70;  Schulz,  Engl. 
Stud.  IX,  471);  Hoops'  Reallexikon,  s.v.  Helm;  Baldwin  Brown,  ni,  194-6; 
Falk,  Altnord.  Waffenkunde,  155-73;  Stjerna,  Hjdlmar  och  svdrd,  1907,  as 
above:  but  the  attempt  of  Stjerna  to  arrange  the  helmets  he  depicts  in  a 

1  A  very  good  description  of  these  continental  "Spangenhelme"  is  given 
in  the  magnificent  work  of  I.  W.  Grobbels,  Der  Reihengrdberfund  von  Gamvier- 
tingen,  Miinchen,  1905.  These  helms  had  long  been  known  from  a  specimen 
(place  of  origin  uncertain)  in  the  Hermitage  at  Petrograd,  and  another  example, 
that  of  Vezeronce,  supposed  to  have  been  lost  in  the  battle  between  Franks 
and  Burgundians  in  524.  Seven  other  examples  have  been  discovered  in  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  including  those  of  Baldenheim  (for  which  see 
Henning  (R.),  Der  helm  von  Baldenheim  und  die  verwandten  helm^  des  friihen 
mittelalters,  Strassburg,  1907,  cf.  Kauffmann,  Z.f.d.Ph.  XL,  464-7)  and  Gammep- 
tingen.  They  are  not  purely  Germanic,  and  may  have  been  made  in  Gaul, 
or  among  the  Ostrogoths  in  Ravenna,  or  further  east. 

2  Stjerna,  Essays,  p.  11= Studier  tilldgnade  Oscar  Montelius  of  Ldrjungar, 
1903,  p.  104:  Clark  Hall,  Beowulf,  1911,  p.  228. 

*  See  also  Graff dltet  vid  Vendel,  beskrifvet  af  H.  Stolpe  och  T.  J.  Ame, 
Stockholm,  1912,  pp.  13,  54;  Tl.  v,  xli. 

*  11.  396,  2049,  2257,  2605;  cf.  grimhelm,  334. 
6  2811,  304,  1111  (cf.  Falk,  156). 

«  1453-4  (cf.  Falk,  157-9). 

'  securum  etiam  inter  hostes  praestat.   Oerm.  cap.  45. 

8  1031  (cf.  Falk,  158). 

*  1630,  2723.  Cf.  Exodus,  174,  grimMm  gespeon  cyning  dnberge,  and  Genesis, 
444.   (See  Falk,  166.) 


360  Beowulf  and  the  Archasologists 

chronological  series  is  perilous,  and  depends  on  a  dating  of  the  Benty 
Grange  helmet  which  is  by  no  means  generally  accepted. 

The  Corslet.  This  in  Beovmlf  is  made  of  rings^,  twisted  and  interlaced 
by  hand^.  As  stated  above,  the  fragments  of  the  only  known  Anglo-Saxon 
byrnie  were  not  of  this  type,  but  rather  intended  to  have  been  sewn  "upon 
a  doublet  of  strong  cloth^."  Bjnrnies  were  of  various  lengths,  the  longer  ones 
reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh  {byrnan  side,  BeouK  1291,  cf.  loricx 
longx,  sid'ar  hrynjur). 

See  Falk,  179;  Baldwin  Brown,  m,  194. 

The  Spear.  Spear  and  shield  were  the  essential  Germanic  weapons  in 
the  days  of  Tacitus,  and  they  are  the  weapons  most  commonly  found  in  Old 
English  tombs.  The  spear-shaft  has  generally  decayed,  analysis  of  frag- 
ments surviving  show  that  it  was  frequently  of  ash*.  The  butt-end  of  the 
spear  was  frequently  furnished  with  an  iron  tip,  and  the  distance  of  this 
from  the  spear-head,  and  the  size  of  the  socket,  show  the  spear-shaft  to 
have  been  six  or  seven  feet  long,  and  three-quarters  of  an  inch  to  one  inch 
in  diameter. 

See  Falk,  66-90;  Baldwin  Brown,  m,  234-41. 

The  Shield.  Several  round  shields  were  preserved  on  the  Gokstad  ship, 
and  in  the  deposits  of  an  earUer  period  at  Thorsbjerg  and  Nydam.  These 
are  formed  of  boards  fastened  together,  often  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick, 
and  not  strengthened  or  braced  in  any  way,  bearing  out  the  contemptuous 
description  of  the  painted  German  shield  which  Tacitus  puts  into  the 
mouth  of  Germanicus^.  It  was,  however,  intended  that  the  shield  should 
be  light.  It  was  easily  pierced,  but,  by  a  rapid  twist,  the  foe's  sword  could 
be  broken  or  wrenched  from  his  hand.  Thus  we  are  told  how  Gunnar  gave 
his  shield  a  twist,  as  his  adversary  thrust  his  sword  through  it,  and  so 
snapped  off  his  sword  at  the  hilt®.  The  shield  was  held  by  a  bar,  crossing 
a  hole  some  fom-  inches  wide  cut  in  the  middle.  The  hand  was  protected  by 
a  hollow  conical  boss  or  umbo,  fixed  to  the  wood  by  its  brim,  but  projecting 
considerably.  In  England  the  wood  of  the  shield  has  always  perished,  but 
a  large  number  of  bosses  have  been  preserved.  The  boss  seems  to  have  been 
called  rond,  a  word  which  is  also  used  for  the  shield  as  a  whole.  In  Beowulf, 
2673,  Gifts  of  Men,  65,  the  meaning  "boss"  suits  rond  best,  also  in  rand  sceal 
on  scylde,  fmstfingra  geheorh  {Cotton.  Chwmic  Verses,  37-8).  But  the  original 
meaning  of  rand  must  have  been  the  circular  rim  round  the  edge,  and  this 

1  Cf.  11.  1503,  1548,  2260,  2754. 

2  Cf.  11.  322,  551,  1443. 

3  Bateman,  Ten  Years'  Diggings,  1861,  p.  32. 

4  Cf.  Beovmlf,  330,  1772,  2042. 

^  "ne  scuta  quidem  ferro  neruoue  firmata,  sed... tenuis  et  fucatas  colore 
tabulas,"  Annals,  ii,  14;  cf.  Germania,  6,  "  scuta  tantum  lectissimis  coloribua 
distinguunt." 

^  Njdls  Saga,  cap.  xxx. 


The  Hall  361 

meaning  it  retains  in  Icejandic  (Falk,  131).  The  linden  wood  was  sometimes 
bound  with  bast,  whence  scyld  {sceal)  gehunden,  leoht  linden  hord  {Exeter 
<hwmic  Verses,  94-5). 

See  Falk  (126-54);  Baldwin  Brown,  m,  196-204;  Pfannkuche  (K.),  Der 
JSchild  bei  den  Angelsachsen,  Halle  Dissertation,  1908. 

The  Bow  is  a  weapon  of  much  less  importance  in  Beowulf  than  the 
spear.  Few  traces  of  the  bow  have  survived  from  Anglo-Saxon  England, 
though  many  wooden  long-bows  have  been  preserved  in  the  moss-finds  in 
A  remarkably  fine  state.  They  are  of  yew,  some  over  six  feet  long,  and  in 
at  least  one  instance  tipped  with  horn.  The  bow  entirely  of  horn  was,  of 
■course,  well  known  in  the  East,  and  in  classical  antiquity,  but  I  do  not 
think  traces  of  any  horn-bow  have  been  discovered  in  the  North.  It  was 
a  difficult  weapon  to  manage,  as  the  suitors  of  Penelope  found  to  their  cost. 
Possibly  that  is  why  Hsethcyn  is  represented  as  killing  his  brother  Herebeald 
accidentally  with  a  horn-bow:  he  could  not  manage  the  exotic  weapon. 

See  Falk,  91-103;  Baldwin  Brown,  m,  241. 

The  Hall 

It  may  perhaps  be  the  fact  that  in  the  church  of  Sta.  Maria  de 
Naranco,  in  the  north  of  Spain,  we  have  the  hall  of  a  Visigothic  king  driven 
north  by  the  Mohammedan  invasion.  But,  even  if  this  surmise^  be  correct, 
the  structure  of  a  stone  hall  of  about  750  a.d.  gives  us  little  information 
as  to  the  wooden  halls  of  early  Anglo-Saxon  times.  Heorot  is  clearly  built 
of  timber,  held  together  by  iron  clamps  2.  These  halls  were  oblong,  and  a 
famous  passage  in  Bede^  makes  it  clear  that,  at  any  rate  at  the  time  of  the 
Conversion,  the  haU  had  a  door  at  both  ends,  and  the  fire  burnt  in  the 
middle.  (The  smoke  escaped  through  a  hole  in  the  roof,  through  which 
probably  most  of  the  light  came,  for  windows  were  few  or  none.)  The 
Finnshurg  Fragment  also  implies  two  doors.  Further  indications  can  be 
drawn  from  references  to  the  halls  of  Norse  chiefs.  The  Scandinavian  hall 
was  divided  by  rows  of  wooden  pillars  into  a  central  nave  and  side  aisles. 
The  pillars  in  the  centre  were  known  as  the  "high -seat  pillars."  Rows  of 
«eats  ran  down  the  length  of  the  hall  on  each  side.  The  central  position, 
facing  the  high-seat  pillars  and  the  fire,  was  the  most  honourable.  The 
place  of  honom*  for  the  chief  guest  was  opposite:  and  it  is  quite  clear  that 
in  Beowulf  also  the  guest  did  not  sit  next  his  host*. 

Other  points  we  may  note  about  Heorot,  are  the  tapestry  with  which 
its  walls  are  draped  *,  and  the  paved  and  variegated  floor*.    Unlike  so 

*  It  is  the  guess  of  A.  Haupt,  Die  Alteste  Kunst  der  Oermanen,  p.  213. 
2  11.  773-5,  998. 

*  Hist.  Eccl.  n,  13.  The  life  of  man  is  compared  to  the  transit  of  a  sparrow 
flying  from  door  to  door  of  the  hall  where  the  king  sits  feasting  with  his  thanes 
and  warriors,  with  a  fire  in  the  midst. 

*  11.  617-24,  2011-3.  »  995.  •  726. 


362  Beowulf  and  the  Archaeologists 

many  later  halls,  Heorot  has  a  floor  little,  if  anything,  raised  above  the 
ground:  horses  can  be  brought  in^. 

In  later  times,  in  Iceland,  the  arrangement  of  the  hall  was  changed,, 
and  the  house  consisted  of  many  rooms;  but  these  were  formed,  not  by 
partitioning  the  hall,  but  by  building  several  such  halls  side  by  side:  the 
stufa  or  hall  proper,  the  shdli  or  sleeping  hall,  etc. 

See  M.  Heyne,  JJeher  die  Lage  und  Construction  der  Halle  Heorot,  Pader- 
born,  1864,  where  the  scanty  information  about  Heorot  is  collected,  and 
supplemented  with  some  information  about  Anglo-Saxon  building.  For  the 
Icelandic  hall  see  Valtyr  Gu?toiundsson,  Privatboligen  pa  Island  i  Sagatiden, 
K0benhavn,  1889.  This  has  been  summarized,  in  a  more  popular  form,  in 
a  chapter  on  Den  islandske  Bolig  i  Fristatstiden,  contributed  by  Gu^mundsson 
to  Rosenberg's  Trxk  af  Livet  paa  Island  i  Fristatstiden,  1894  (pp.  251-74). 
Here  occm's  the  picture  of  an  Icelandic  hall  which  has  been  so  often  repro- 
duced— by  Olrik,  Holthausen,  and  in  5eo2^w?/- translations.  But  it  is  a 
conjectural  picture,  and  we  can  by  no  means  assume  all  its  details  for 
Heorot.  Rhamm's  colossal  work  is  only  for  the  initiated,  but  is  useful  for 
consultation  on  special  points  {Ethnographische  Beitrdge  zur  Germanisch- 
slaivischen  Altertumskunde,  von  K.  Rhamm,  1905-8.  I.  Die  Grosshufen  der 
Nordgermanen;  II.  Urzeitliche  Bauernhofe).  For  various  details  see  Hoops* 
Heallexikon,  s.v.  flett;  Neckel  in  P.B.B.  xli,  1916,  163-70  {under  edoras); 
Meiringer  in  I.F.,  especially  xvin,  257  {under  eoderas);  Kaufmann  in 
Z.f.d.Ph.  XXXIX,  282-92. 

Ships 

In  a  tumulus  near  Snape  in  Suffolk,  opened  in  1862,  there  were  dis- 
covered, with'  burnt  bones  and  remains  thought  to  be  of  Anglo-Saxon  date„ 
a  large  number  of  rivets  which,  from  the  positions  in  which  they  were  found, 
seemed  to  give  evidence  of  a  boat  48  feet  long  by  over  nine  feet  wide^.  A 
boat,  similar  in  dimensions,  but  better  preserved,  was  unearthed  near 
Bruges  in  1899,  and  the  ribs,  mast  and  rudder  removed  to  the  Gruuthuuse 
Museum  ^ 

Three  boats  were  discovered  in  the  peat-moss  at  Nydam  in  Schleswig 
in  1863,  by  EngeUiardt.  The  most  important  is  the  "Nydam  boat,"  clinker- 
built  (i.e.  with  overlapping  planks),  of  oak,  77  feet  [23*5  m.]  long,  by  some 
11  [3*4  m.]  broad,  with  rowlocks  for  fourteen  oars  down  each  side.  There 
was  no  trace  of  any  mast.  Planks  and  framework  had  been  held  together, 
partly  by  iron  bolts,  and  partly  by  ropes  of  bast.  The  boat  had  fallen  to- 
pieces,  and  had  to  be  laboriously  put  together  in  the  museum  at  Flensborg. 
Another  boat  was  quite  fragmentary,  but  a  third  boat,  of  fir,  was  found 

1  X035  etc. 

2  Proc.  Soc.  Ant,  Sec.  Ser.  n,  177-82. 

^  Jonckheere  (j^.),  L'origine  de  la  Cdte  de  Flandre  et  le  Bateau  de  Bruges, 
Bruges,  1903. 


PLATE  VII 


THE  GOKSTAD  SHIP 


THE  OSEBERG  SHIP 


Ships  363 

tolerably  complete.  Then  the  war  of  1864  ended  EngeUiardt's  labours  at 
Nydam. 

The  oak-boat  was  removed  to  Kiel,  where  it  now  is. 

The  fir- boat  was  allowed  to  decay:  many  of  the  pieces  of  the  oak-boat 
had  been  rotten  and  had  of  necessity  been  restored  in  facsimile,  and  it  is 
much  less  complete  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  numerous  repro- 
ductions, based  upon  the  fine  engraving  by  Magnus  Petersen.  The  rustic 
with  a  spade,  there  depicted  as  gazing  at  the  boat,  is  apt  to  give  a  wrong 
impression  that  it  was  dug  out  intact^. 

Such  was,  however,  actually  the  case  with  regard  to  the  ship  excavated 
from  the  big  mound  at  Gokstad,  near  Christiania,  by  Nicolaysen,  in  1880. 
This  was  fitted  both  as  a  rowing  and  saiUng  ship;  it  was  66  feet  [20*1  m.] 
long  on  the  keel,  78  feet  [23-8  m.]  from  fore  to  aft  and  nearly  17  feet 
[5-1  m.]  broad,  and  was  clinker-built,  out  of  a  much  larger  number  of  oaken 
planks  than  the  Nydam  ship.  It  had  rowlocks  for  sixteen  oars  down  each 
side,  the  gunwale  was  lined  with  shields,  some  of  them  well  preserved, 
which  had  been  originally  painted  alternately  black  and  yellow.  The  find 
owed  its  extraordinary  preservation  to  the  blue  clay  in  which  it  was 
embedded.  Its  discoverer  wrote,  with  pardonable  pride:  "Certain  it  is 
that  we  shall  not  disinter  any  craft  which,  in  respect  of  model  and  work- 
manship, will  outrival  that  of  Gokstad^." 

Yet  the  prophecy  was  destined  to  prove  false:  for  on  Aug.  8,  1903,  a 
farmer  came  into  the  National  Museum  at  Christiania  to  teU  the  curator. 
Prof.  Gustafson,  that  he  had  discovered  traces  of  a  boat  on  his  farm  at 
Oseberg.  Gustafson  foimd  that  the  task  was  too  great  to  be  begun  so  late 
in  the  year:  the  digging  out  of  the  ship,  and  its  removal  to  Christiania, 
occupied  from  just  before  Midsummer  to  just  before  Christmas  of  1904. 
The  potter's  clay  in  which  the  ship  was  buried  had  preserved  it,  if  possible, 
better  than  the  Gokstad  ship:  but  the  movement  of  the  soft  subsoil  had 
squeezed  and  broken  both  ship  and  contents.  The  ship  was  taken  out  of 
the  earth  in  nearly  two  thousand  fragments.  These  were  carefully  numbered 
and  marked:  each  piece  was  treated,  bent  back  into  its  right  shape,  and 
the  ship  was  put  together  again  plank  by  plank,  as  when  it  was  first  built. 
With  the  exception  of  a  piece  about  half  a  yard  long,  j5ve  or  six  little  bits 
let  in,  and  one  of  the  beams,  the  ship  as  it  stands  now  consists  of  the 
original  woodwork.  Two- thirds  of  the  rivets  are  the  old  ones.  TiU  his  death 
in  1915  Gustafson  was  occupied  in  treating  and  preparing  for  exhibition 
first  the  ship,  and  then  its  extraordinarily  rich  contents:  a  waggon  and 
sledges  beautifully  carved,  beds,  chests,  kitchen  utensils  which  had  been 
buried  with  the  princess  who  had  owned  them.  A  full  account  of  the  find 
is  only  now  being  pubKshed^ 

1  Engelhardt  (H.  C.  C),  Nydam  Mosefund,  Kjobenhavn,  1865. 

2  Nicolaysen  (N.),  Langskibet  fra  Gokstad,  Kristiania,  1882. 

*  Osebergfundet.  Udgit  av  den  Norske  Stat,  under  redaktion  av  A.  W.  BrjeTgger, 
Hj.  Falk,  H.  Schetelig.  Bd.  i,  Kristiania,  1917. 


364  Beowulf  and  the  Archseologists 

The  Oseberg  ship  is  the  pleasure  boat  of  a  royal  lady:  clinker-built,  of 
oak,  exquisitely  carved,  intended  not  for  long  voyages  but  for  the  land- 
locked waters  of  the  fiord,  70^  feet  [21  ^5  m.]  long  by  some  16|  feet  [5  m.] 
broad.  There  are  holes  for  fifteen  oars  down  each  side,  and  the  ship  carried 
mast  and  sail. 

The  upper  part  of  the  prow  had  been  destroyed,  but  sufiicient  fragments 
have  been  found  to  show  that  it  ended  in  the  head  of  a  snake-like  creature, 
bent  round  in  a  coil.  This  explains  the  words  hringed-stefna'^,  hring-naca\ 
vmnden-stefna^,  used  of  the  ship  in  Beowulf.  A  similar  ringed  prow  is  de- 
picted on  an  engraved  stone  from  Tjangvide,  now  in  the  National  Historical 
Museum  at  Stockholm.  This  is  supposed  to  date  from  about  the  year  1000*. 

The  Gokstad  and  Oseberg  ships,  together  with  the  ship  of  Tune,  a  much 
less  complete  specimen  (unearthed  in  1867,  and  found  like  the  others  on 
the  shore  of  the  Christiania  fiord)  owe  their  preservation  to  the  clay,  and 
the  skill  of  Scandinavian  antiquaries.  Yet  they  are  but  three  out  of 
thousands  of  ship-  or  boat-burials.  Schetelig  enumerates  552  known 
instances  from  Norway  alone.  Often  traces  of  the  iron  rivets  are  all  that 
remain. 

Ships  preserved  from  the  Baltic  coast  of  Germany  can  be  seen  at 
Konigsberg,  Danzig  and  Stettin;  they  are  smaller  and  apparently  later; 
the  best,  that  of  Brosen,  was  destroyed. 

The  seamanship  of  Beowulf  is  removed  by  centuries  from  that  of  the 
( ?  fourth  or  fifth  century)  Nydam  boat,  which  not  only  has  no  mast  or  proper 
keel,  but  is  so  built  as  to  be  little  suited  for  saihng.  In  Beowulf  the  sea  is 
a  "sail-road,"  the  word  "to  row"  occurs  only  in  the  sense  of  "swim," 
sailing  is  assumed  as  the  means  by  which  Beowulf  travels  between  the 
land  of  the  Geatas  and  that  of  the  Danes.  Though  he  voyages  with  but 
fourteen  companions,  the  ship  is  big  enough  to  carry  back  four  horses. 
How  the  sail  may  have  been  arranged  is  shown  in  many  inscribed  stones  of 
the  eighth  to  the  tenth  centuries:  notably  those  of  Stenkyrka^  Hogbro*, 
and  Tjangvide''. 

The  Oseberg  and  Gokstad  ships  are  no  doubt  later  than  the  composition 
of  Beowulf.    But  it  is  when  looking  at  the  Oseberg  ship,  especially  if  we 
picture  the  great  prow  like  the  neck  of  a  swan  ending  in  a  serpent's  coil, 
that  we  can  best  understand  the  words  of  Beowulf 
flota  fami-heals  fugle  gelicost, 
wunden-stefna, 

well  rendered  by  Earle  "The  foamy-necked  floater,  most  like  to  a  bird — the 
coily-stemmed." 

1  Beowulf,  11.  32,  1131,  1897.  2  1852.  ^  22O. 

*  Noreen,  AUschwedische  Grammatik,  1904,  p.  499. 

*  All  these  places  are  in  Gotland.  The  Stenkyrka  stone  is  reproduced  in 
Stjema's  Essays,  transl.  Clark  Hall,  fig.  24. 

«  The  same,  fig.  27. 

'  Reproduced  in  Montelius,  Sveriges  Historia,  p.  283. 


Leire.    Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son  366 

See  Boehmer  (G.  H.)»  Prehistoric  Naval  Architecture  of  the  North  of 
Europe,  Report  of  the  U.S.  National  Museum  for  1891  (now  rather  out  of 
date);  GuSmundsson  (V.),  Nordboernes  Skibe  i  Vikinge-  og  Sagatiden, 
K0benhavn,  1900;  JSchnepper,  Die  Namen  der  Schiffe  u.  Schiffsteile  im 
Altenglischen  (Kiel  Diss.),  1908;  Falk  (H.),  Altnordisches  Seewesen  {Worter 
u.  Sachen,  iv,  Heidelberg,  1912);  Hoops'  Reallexikon,  s.v.  Schiff. 

G.     LEIRE  BEFORE  ROLF  KRAKI 

That  Leire  was  the  royal  town,  not  merely  of  Rolf  Kraki, 
but  of  Rolf's  predecessors  as  well,  is  stated  in  the  Skjoldunga 
Saga,  extant  in  the  Latin  abstract  of  Arngrim  Jonsson :  Scioldus 
in  arce  Selandiae  Hledro  sedes  posuit,  quae  et  sequentium  pluri- 
morum  regum  regiafuit  (ed.  Olrik,  K^zHbenhavm,  1894,  p.  23  [105]). 
Similarly  we  are  told  in  the  Ynglinga  Saga,  concerning  Gefion, 
Hennar  fekk  Skjgldr,  sonr  O&ins;  pau  bjoggu  at  Hlei&ru  {Heims- 
kringla,  udgivne  ved  F.  Jonsson,  K^benhavn,  i,  15  [cap.  v]). 

Above  all,  it  is  clear  from  the  Annales  Lundenses  that,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  Dan,  Ro  (Hrothgar)  and  Haldan  (Healfdene) 
were  traditionally  connected  with  Leire,  and  three  of  the  grave 
mounds  there  were  associated  with  these  three  kings.  See  the 
extract  given  above,  pp.  204-5,  and  cf.  p.  17. 

H.     BEE-WOLF  AND  BEAR'S  SON 

The  obvious  interpretation  of  the  name  Beowulf  is  that  sug-x^ 
gested  by  Grimm^,  that  it  means  "wolf,  or  foe,  of  the  bee.'* 
Grimm's  suggestion  was  repeated  independently  by  Skeat^,  and 
further  reasons  for  the  interpretation  "  bee-foe  "  have  been  found 
by  Sweet^  (who  had  been  anticipated  by  Simrock*  in  some  of 
his  points),  by  Cosijn^,  Sievers^,  von  Grienberger'^,  Panzer^  and 
Bjorkman^. 

From  the  phonological  point  of  view  the  etymology  is  a 

1  Deutsche  Mythologie,  3te  Ausgabe,  1854,  pp.  342,  639. 

•  Academy,  xi,  1877,  p.  163. 
»  Engl.  Stud,  n,  314. 

•  Beowulf  p.  177. 

•  Aanteekeningen  op  den  Beowulf,  1892,  p.  42. 
«  P.B.B.  XVIII,  413. 

'  Z.f.6.0.  LVi,  759. 

•  Beovmlf,  p.  392. 

•  Engl.  Stud,  ui,  191.  Among  the  many  who  have  accepted  the  explanation 
"bee-wolf,"  without  giving  additional  reasons,  may  be  mentioned  R.  Miiller, 
Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Namen  des  Liber  Vitae,  1901,  p.  94. 


366  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

perfect  one,  but  many  of  those  who  were  convinced  that 
"Beowulf"  meant  "bee-foe"  had  no  satisfactory  explanation 
of  "bee-foe"  to  offer^.  Others,  Hke  Bugge,  whilst  admitting 
that,  so  far  as  the  form  of  the  words  goes,  the  etymology  is 
satisfactory,  rejected  "bee-foe"  because  it  seemed  to  them 
meaningless  2, 

Yet  it  is  very  far  from  meaningless.  "Bee-foe"  means 
"bear."  The  bear  has  got  a  name,  or  nickname,  in  many  northern 
languages  from  his  habit  of  raiding  the  hives  for  honey.  The 
Finnish  name  for  bear  is  said  to  be  "honey-hand":  he  is  cer- 
tainly called  "sweet-foot,"  sotfot^  in  Sweden,  and  the  Old 
Slavonic  name,  "honey-eater,"  has  come  to  be  accepted  in 
Russian,  not  merely  as  a  nickname,  but  as  the  regular  term 
for  "bear." 

And  "bear"  is  an  excellent  name  for  a  hero  of  story.  The 
O.E.  heorn,  "warrior,  hero,  prince"  seems  originally  to  have 
meant  simply  "bear."  The  bear,  says  Grimm,  "is  regarded,  in 
the  belief  of  the  Old  Norse,  Slavonic,  Finnish  and  Lapp  peoples, 
as  an  exalted  and  holy  being,  endowed  with  human  under- 
standing and  the  strength  of  twelve  men.  He  is  called  'forest- 
king,'  'gold-foot,'  'sweet-foot,'  'honey-hand,'  'honey-paw,' 
'honey-eater,'  but  also  'the  great,'  'the  old,'  'the  old  grand- 
sire^.'"  "Bee-hunter"  is  then  a  satisfactory  explanation  of 
Beowulf:  while  the  alternative  explanations  are  none  of  them 
satisfactory. 

Many  scholars  have  been  led  off  the  track  by  the  assumption 
that  Beow  and  Beowulf  are  to  be  identified,  and  that  we  must 
therefore  assume  that  the  first  element  in  Beowulf's  name  is 
Beow — that  we  must  divide  not  Beo-wulf  but  Beow-ulf,  "a 
warrior  after  the  manner  of  Beow^."    But  there  is  no  ground 

^  Both  Grimm  and  Skeat  suggested  the  woodpecker,  which  feeds  upon  bees 
and  their  larvae :  Grimm  appealing  to  classical  mythology,  Skeat  instancing  the 
bird's  courage.  But  nothing  seems  forthcoming  from  Teutonic  mythology  to 
favour  this  interpretation.  Cosijn,  following  Sijmons,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxrv,  17, 
thought  bees  might  have  been  an  omen  of  victory.  But  there  is  no  satisfactory 
evidence  for  this.  The  term  sigeivif  applied  to  the  swarming  bees  in  the  Charms 
(Cockayne's  Leechdoms,  i,  384)  is  insufficient. 

2  Tidskr.  f.  Philol.  og  P&dag.  viii,  289. 

»  Deutsches  Worterbuch,  1854,  i,  1122. 

*  "Das  compositum  Beovulf,  wie  Gozolf,  Irminolf,  Reginolf,  und  andre 
gebildet,  zeigt  nur  einen  helden  und  krieger  im  geist  und  sinn  oder  von  der 
art  des  Beowa  an.   Ihm  entspricht  altn.  Biolfr."   (MiillenhofE,  in  Z.f.d.A.  xn. 


Derivation  of  the  name  Beowulf  367 

for  any  such  assumption.  It  is  true  that  in  II.  18,  53,  "  Beowulf" 
is  written  where  we  should  have  expected  "Beowa."  But,  even 
if  two  words  of  similar  sound  have  been  confused,  this  fact 
affords  no  reason  for  supposing  that  they  must  necessarily  have 
been  in  the  first  instance  connected  etymologically.  And  against 
the  "warrior  of  Beow"  interpretation  is  the  fact  that  the  name 
is  recorded  in  the  early  Northumbrian  Liber  Vitae  under  the 
form  "Biuuulf^."  This  name,  which  is  that  of  an  early  monk  of 
Durham,  is  presumably  the  same  as  that  of  the  hero  of  our 
poem,  though  it  does  not,  of  course,  follow  that  the  bearer  of  it 
was  named  with  any  special  reference  to  the  slayer  of  Grendel. 
Now  Biuuulf  ia  correct  Northumbrian  for  "bee- wolf,"  but  the 
first  element  in  the  word  cannot  stand  for  Beow^,  unless  the 

284.)  But  certainly  this  interpretation  is  impossible  for  O.N.  Biolfr:  "warrior 
of  Beowa"  would  be  *Byggulfr,  which  we  nowhere  find.  See  Bjorkman  in 
Engl.  Stud,  lii,  191.  Miillenhoff  at  this  date,  whilst  not  connecting  Beotmlf 
directly  with  bio,  "bee,"  did  so  connect  Beowa,  whom  he  interpreted  as  a  bee- 
god  or  bee-father.  But  there  is  no  evidence  for  this,  and  the  w  of  Beowa  tells 
emphatically  against  it.   MiillenhofE  subsequently  abandoned  this  explanation. 

1  It  is  actually  written  Biuuulf. 

2  Biu  in  Biuuulf  cannot  stand  for  Beo  [older  Beu'\  because  in  Old  Noriihum- 
brian  iu  and  eo  are  rigidly  differentiated,  as  an  examination  of  all  the  other  names 
in  the  Liber  Vitae  shows.  As  Sievers  points  out,  if  Biuuulf  is  to  be  derived  from 
*Beuw  {w)ulf,  then  it  would  afford  an  isolated  and  inexplicable  case  of  iu  for 
«o[eM],  unique  in  the  Liber  Vitae,  as  in  the  whole  mass  of  the  oldest  English 
texts:  "Soil  ein  zusammenhang  mit  st.  beuwa-  stattfinden,  so  muss  man  auch 
diesen  stamm  fiir  einen  urspr.  s-stamm  erklaren,  und  unser  biu-  auf  die 
atammform  bium{z)-  hicht  auf  beuwa{z)-  zuriickfiihren."  (Sievers,  P.B.B. 
xvni,  413.)  The  word  however  is  a  neut.  uhi-  stem,  whether  in  O.E.  (beow).  Old 
Saxon  (beo)  or  Icelandic  {bygg):  see  Sievers,  Ags.  Grammatik,  3te  Aufl.  §250; 
Gallee,  Altsdchsische  Grammatik,  2te  Aufl.  §  305;  Noreen,  Altisldndische  Oram- 
matik,  3te  Aufl.  §  356.  The  word  is  extant  in  Old  English  only  in  the  Glossaries, 
in  the  gen.  sing.,  "handful  beouaes,"  etc.,  and  in  Old  Saxon  only  in  the  gen. 
plu.  beuuo.  It  is  thought  to  have  been  originally  a  um-atem,  which  subsequently, 
as  e.g.  in  O.E.,  passed  into  a  M>a-stem.  (See  Noreen,  A.f.n.F.  i,  166,  arguing 
from  the  form  begg  in  the  Dalecarlian  dialect.)  The  presumed  Primitive  Norse 
form  is  beggvm,  whence  the  various  Scandinavian  forms,  Icel.  bygg,  Old  Swedish 
and  Old  Danish  biug{g).  See  Hellquist  in  A.f.n.F.  vn,  31;  von  Unwerth, 
A.f.n.F.  XXXIII,  331;  Bmz,  P.B.B.  xx,  153;  von  Helten,  P.B.B.  xxx,  245; 
Kock,  Umlaut  u.  Brechung  im  Aschw.  p.  314,  in  Lunds  Universitets  arsskrift, 
Bd.  xn).  The  proper  name  Byggvir  is  a  ^'a-stem,  but  Beow  cannot  have  been  so 
formed,  as  a  ja-stem  would  give  the  form  Seowe.  Cosijn  {Aanteekeningen,  42) 
was  accordingly  justified  in  pointing  to  the  form  Biuuulf  as  refuting  Kegel's 
attempt  to  connect  Beowulf  with  Beow  through  a  form  *Bawivmlf  (A.f.d.A. 
xvni,  56).  Kogel  replied  with  a  laboured  defence  (Z.f.d.A.  xxxvn,  268):  he 
starts  by  assuming  that  Beow  and  Beowulf  are  etymologically  connected,  which 
is  the  very  point  which  has  to  be  proved :  he  has  to  admit  that,  if  his  etymology 
be  correct,  the  Biuuulf  of  the  Liber  Vitae  is  not  the  same  form  as  Beovmlf, 
which  is  the  very  point  Cosijn  urged  as  telling  against  his  etymology:  and  even 
80  his  etymological  explanations  depend  upon  stages  which  cannot  be  accepted 
in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  (see  especially  Sievers  in  P.B.B.  xvni, 
413;  Bjorkman  in  Engl.  Stud.  UJ,  150). 


368  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

affinities  and  forms  of  that  word  are  quite  different  from  all 
that  the  evidence  has  hitherto  led  us  to  beheve.  So  much  at 
least  seems  certain.  Besides,  we  have  seen  that  Byggvir  is. 
taunted  by  Loki  precisely  with  the  fact  that  he  is  no  warrior. 
If  we  can  estimate  the  characteristics  of  the  O.E.  Beow  from 
those  of  the  Scandinavian  Byggvir,  the  name  "Warrior  after 
the  manner  of  Beow"  would  be  meaningless,  if  not  absurd. 
Bugge^,  relying  upon  the  parallel  O.N.  form  Bjolfr^,  which  is 
recorded  as  the  name  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Iceland^, 
tried  to  interpret  the  word  as  Bcejolfr  "the  wolf  of  the  farm- 
stead," quoting  as  parallels  Heimulf,  Gardulf.  But  Bjolfr  itself 
is  best  interpreted  as  "Bee- wolf*."  And  admittedly  Bugge's 
explanation  does  not  suit  the  O.E.  Beowulf,  and  necessitates 
the  assumption  that  the  word  in  EngUsh  is  a  mere  meaningless 
borrowing  from  the  Scandinavian :  for  Beowulf  assuredly  does 
not  mean  "wolf  of  the  farmstead^." 

Neither  can  we  take  very  seriously  the  explanation  of 
Sarrazin  and  Ferguson^  that  Beowulf  is  an  abbreviation  of 
Beadu-wulf,  "wolf  of  war."  Our  business  is  to  interpret  the 
name  Beowulf,  or,  if  we  cannot,  to  admit  that  we  cannot;  not 
to  substitute  some  quite  distinct  name  for  it,  and  interpret  that. 
Such  theories  merely  show  to  what  straits  we  may  be  reduced^ 
if  we  reject  the  obvious  etymology  of  the  word. 

And  there  are  two  further  considerations,  which  confirm, 
almost  to  a  certainty,  this  obvious  interpretation  of  "Beowulf" 
as  " Bee- wolf  "  or  "Bear."  The  first  is  that  it  agrees  excellently 
with  Beowulf's  bear-Hke  habit  of  hugging  his  adversaries  to 
death — a  feature  which  surely  belongs  to  the  original  kernel  of 
our  story,  since  it  is  incompatible  with  the  chivalrous,  weapon- 

1  Tidskr.  f.  Philol  og  Psedag.  vm,  289. 

2  First  pointed  out  by  Gmndtvig  in  Barfod's  Brage  og  Iduriy  iv,  1841,  p.  500,. 
footnote. 

^  "  Lodmundr  hinn  gamli  het  madr  enn  annarr.  Biolfr  f  ostbrodir  bans.  )?eir 
foru  til  Islands  af  Vors  af  J>vlviieai"  (Voss  in  Norway).  See  Landndmabok, 
Kobenhavn,  1900,  p.  92. 

*  Noreen,  Altisldndische  Orammatik,  3te  Aufl.  p.  97.  See  also  Noreen  in 
Festskrift  til  H.  F.  Feilberg,  1911,  p.  283.  Noreen  seems  to  have  no  doubt  a» 
to  the  explanation  of  Bjolfr  as  By-olfr,  "Bee-wolf." 

^  Bugge,  has,  however,  been  followed  by  Gering,  Beovmlf,  1906,  p.  100. 

^  Ferguson  in  the  Athenseum,  June  1892,  p.  763:  "Beadowulf  by  a  common 
form  of  elision  (!)  would  become  Beowulf."  Sarrazin  admits  "FreUich  ist  da» 
eine  ungewohnliche  verkiirzung"  {Engl.  Stud,  xui,  19).  See  also  Sarrazin  in 
AngliUy  v,  200;  Beotvulf-Studien,  33,  77;  Engl.  Stud,  xvi,  79. 


Panzer's  theory  369 

loving  trappings  in  which  that  story  has  been  dressed^.  The 
second  is  that,  as  I  have  tried  to  show,  the  evidence  is  strongly 
in  favour  of  Bjarki  and  Beowulf  being  originally  the  same 
figure^:  and  Bjarki  is  certainly  a  bear-hero^.  His  name  signifies 
as  much,  and  in  the  Saga  of  Rolf  Krahi  we  are  told  at  length 
how  the  father  of  Bjarki  was  a  prince  who  had  been  turned  by 
enchantment  into  a  bear*. 

If,  then,  Beowulf  is  a  bear-hero^,  the  next  step  is  to  enquire 
whether  there  is  any  real  hkeness  between  his  adventures  at 
Heorot  and  under  the  mere,  and  the  adventures  of  the  hero  of 
the  widely-spread  "  Bear's  Son  "  folk- tale.  This  investigation  has, 
as  we  have  seen  above^,  been  carried  out  by  Panzer  in  his  monu- 
mental work,  which  marks  an  epoch  in  the  study  of  Beowulf. 

Panzer's  arguments  in  favour  of  such  connection  would,  I 
think,  have  been  strengthened  if  he  had  either  quoted  textually 
a  number  of  the  more  important  and  less  generally  accessible 
folk-tales,  or,  since  this  would  have  proved  cumbersome,  if  he 
had  at  least  given  abstracts  of  them.  The  method  which  Panzer 
follows,  is  to  enumerate  over  two  hundred  tales,  and  from  them 
to  construct  a  story  which  is  a  compound  of  them  all.  This  is 
obviously  a  method  which  is  hable  to  abuse,  though  I  do  not 
say  that  Panzer  has  abused  it.  But  we  must  not  let  a  story  so 
constructed  usurp  in  our  minds  the  place  of  the  actual  recorded 
folk-tales.  Folk-tales,  as  Andrew  Lang  wrote  long  ago,  "con- 
sist of  but  few  incidents,  grouped  together  in  a  kaleidoscopic 
variety  of  arrangements."  A  collection  of  over  two  hundred 
cognate  tales  offers  a  wide  field  for  the  selection  therefrom  of  a 
composite  story.  Further,  some  geographical  discrimination  is 
necessary :  these  tales  are  scattered  over  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
it  is  important  to  keep  constantly  in  mind  whether  a  given  type 
of  tale  belongs,  for  example,  to  Greece  or  to  Scandinavia. 

1  This  incompatibility  comes  out  very  strongly  in  U.  2499-2506,  where 
Beowulf  praises  his  sword  particularly  for  the  services  it  has  not  been  able  to 
render  him. 

2  See  above,  pp.  60-1. 

3  Obik,  Heltedigtning,  i,  140:  F.  Jonsson,  Hrdlfs  Saga  Kraka,  1904,  Inledning, 

XX. 

*  Hrdlfs  Saga  Kraka,  cap.  17-20. 

*  The  trait  is  wanting  in  the  Orettis  saga:  Grettir  son  of  Asraund  was  too 
historical  a  character  for  such  features  to  be  attributed  to  him. 

«  See  pp.  62-7. 

o.  B.  24 


370  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

A  typical  example  of  the  Bear's  son  tale  is  Der  StarJce  Hans 
in  Grimm^.  Hans  is  brought  up  in  a  robber's  den:  but  quite 
apart  from  any  of  the  theories  we  are  now  considering,  it  has 
long  been  recognized  that  this  is  a  mere  toning  down  of  the 
original  incredible  story,  which  makes  a  bear's  den  the  nursery 
of  the  strong  youth 2.  Hans  overcomes  in  an  empty  castle  the 
foe  (a  mannikin  of  magic  powers)  who  has  already  worsted  his 
comrades  Fir- twister  and  Stone-sphtter.  He  pursues  this  foe  to 
his  hole,  is  let  down  by  his  companions  in  a  basket  by  a  rope, 
slays  the  foe  with  his  club  and  rescues  a  princess.  He  sends  up 
the  princess  in  the  basket;  but  when  his  own  turn  comes  to  be 
pulled  up  his  associates  intentionally  drop  the  basket  when 
halfway  up.  But  Hans,  suspecting  treason,  has  only  sent  up  his 
club.  He  escapes  by  magic  help,  takes  vengeance  on  the  traitors, 
and  weds  the  princess. 

In  another  story  in  Grimm^,  the  antagonist  whom  the  hero 
overcomes,  but  does  not  in  this  case  slay,  is  called  the  Earth- 
man,  Dat  Erdmdnnehen.  This  type  begins  with  the  disappearance 
of  the  princesses,  who  are  to  the  orthodox  number  of  three; 
otherwise  it  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  abstract  given 
above.  Grimm  records  four  distinct  versions,  all  from  Western 
Germany. 

The  versions  of  this  widespread  story  which  are  most  easily 
accessible  to  English  readers  are  Hkely  to  prejudice  such  readers 
against  Panzer's  view.  The  two  versions  in  Campbell's  Popular 
Tales  of  the  West  Highlands^,  or  the  version  in  Kennedy's 
Legendary  Fictions  of  the  Irish  Celts^  are  not  of  a  kind  to  remind 
any  unprejudiced  reader  strongly  of  Beowulf,  or  of  the  Grettir- 
story  either.  Indeed,  I  beheve  that  from  countries  so  remote 
as  North  Italy  or  Russia  parallels  can  be  found  which  are  closer 
than  any  so  far  quoted  from  the  Celtic  portions  of  the  British 
Isles.  Possibly  more  Celtic  parallels  may  be  forthcoming  in  the 
future:  some  striking  ones  at  any  rate  are  promised^. 

1  No.  166.  Translated  as  "Strong  Hans."  (Grimm's  Household  Tales,  trans, 
by  M.  Hunt,  with  introduction  by  A.  Lang,  1884.) 

2  As,  for  example,  by  Cosquin,  Contes  populaires  de  Lorraine,  i,  7.  A  com- 
parison of  the  different  versions  in  which  the  "strange  theme"  is  toned  down, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  seems  to  make  this  certain.  ®  No.  91. 

*  Edinburgh,  1860,  vol.  i,  No.  xvi,  "The  king  of  Lochlin's  three  daughters": 
vol.  Ill,  No.  Lviii,  "The  rider  of  Grianaig." 

^  London,  1866:  p.  43,  "The  Three  Crowns."         «  Notably  by  von  Sydo^_ 

i 


Versions  of  the  Bear's  son  folk-tale  371 

So,  too,  the  story  of  the  "Great  Bird  Dan"  {Fugl  Dam^), 
which  is  accessible  to  English  readers  in  Dasent's  translation^, 
is  one  in  which  the  typical  features  have  been  overlaid  by  a 
mass  of  detail. 

A  much  more  normal  specimen  of  the  '*  Bear's  son  "  story  is 
found,  for  example,  in  a  folk-tale  from  Lombardy — the  story  of 
Giovanni  delV  Orso^.  Giovanni  is  brought  up  in  a  bear's  den, 
whither  his  mother  has  been  carried  ofE.  At  five,  he  has  the 
growth  of  a  man  and  the  strength  of  a  giant.  At  sixteen,  he  is 
able  to  remove  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  den  and  escape, 
with  his  mother.  Going  on  his  adventures  with  two  comrades, 
he  comes  to  an  empty  palace.  The  comrades  are  defeated:  it 
becomes  the  turn  of  Giovanni  to  be  alone.  An  old  man  comes 
in  and  "grows,  grows  till  his  head  touched  the  roof*."  Giovanni 
mortally  wounds  the  giant,  who  however  escapes.  They  all  go 
in  search  of  him,  and  find  a  hole  in  the  ground.  His  comrades 
let  Giovanni  down  by  a  rope.  He  finds  a  great  hall,  full  of  rich 
clothes  and  provision  of  every  kind:  in  a  second  hall  he  finds 
three  girls,  each  one  more  beautiful  than  the  other:  in  a  third 
hall  he  finds  the  giant  himself,  drawing  up  his  will^.  Giovanni 
kills  the  giant,  rescues  the  damsels,  and,  in  spite  of  his  comrades 
deserting  the  rope,  he  escapes,  pardons  them,  himself  weds  the 
youngest  princess  and  marries  his  comrades  to  the  elder  ones. 

I  cannot  find  in  this  version  any  mention  of  the  hero  smiting 
the  giant  below  with  a  magic  sword  which  he  finds  there,  as 
suggested  by  Panzer^.  But  even  without  this,  the  first  part  of 
the  story  has  resemblances  to  Beowulf,  and  still  more  to  the 
Grettir-^toTj . 

There  are  many  Slavonic  variants.  The  South  Russian  story 
of  the  Norka'  begins  with  the  attack  of  the  Norka  upon  the 
King's  park.  The  King  offers  half  his  kingdom  to  whomsoever 
will  destroy  the  beast.  The  youngest  prince  of  three  watches, 

1  A8bj£(ni8en  og  Moe,  Norske  Folkeeventyr,  Christiania,  1852,  No.  3. 

2  Popular  TaUafrmn  the  Norse  (third  edit.,  Edinburgh,  1888,  p.  382). 

3  Visentini,  Fiabe  Mantovane,  1879,  No.  32,  157-161. 

*  "fino  a  che  col  capo  tocca  le  travi."   Cf.  Glam  in  the  Grettis  Saga. 
5  "e  qui  vede  il  gigante  seduto,  che  detteva  il  suo  testamento." 

*  p.  153.  This  is  Panzer's  version  97. 

'  "A  fabulous  creature,  but  zoologically  the  name  Norka  (from  worn,  a  hole) 
belongs  to  the  otter,"  Ralston,  Russian  Folk  Tales,  p.  73. 

24—2 


372  Bee-wolf  and  Bears  son 

after  the  failure  of  his  two  elder  brothers,  chases  and  wounds 
the  monster,  who  in  the  end  pulls  up  a  stone  and  disappears 
into  the  earth.  The  prince  is  let  down  by  his  brothers,  and,  with 
the  help  of  a  sword  specially  given  him  in  the  underworld,  and 
a  draught  of  the  water  of  strength,  he  slays  the  foe,  and  wins 
the  princesses.  In  order  to  have  these  for  themselves,  the  elder 
brothers  drop  what  they  suppose  to  be  their  youngest  brother, 
as  they  are  drawing  him  up:  but  it  is  only  a  stone  he  has 
cautiously  tied  to  the  rope  in  place  of  himself.  The  prince's 
miraculous  return  in  disguise,  his  feats,  recognition  by  the 
youngest  princess,  the  exposure  of  the  traitors,  and  marriage  of 
the  hero,  all  follow  in  due  course^. 

A  closer  Russian  parallel  is  that  of  Ivashko  Medvedko^,  "  John 
Honey-eater"  or  "Bear."  John  grows  up,  not  by  years,  but  by 
hours :  nearly  every  hour  he  gains  an  inch  in  height.  At  fifteen, 
there  are  complaints  of  his  rough  play  with  other  village  boys, 
and  John  Bear  has  to  go  out  into  the  world,  after  his  grandfather 
has  provided  him  with  a  weapon,  an  iron  staff  of  immense 
weight.  He  meets  a  champion  who  is  drinking  up  a  river: 
"Good  morning,  John  Bear,  whither  art  going? "  "I  know  not 
whither;  I  just  go,  not  knowing  where  to  go."  "If  so,  take  me 
with  you."  The  same  happens  with  a  second  champion  whose 
hobby  is  to  carry  mountains  on  his  shoulder,  and  with  a  third, 
who  plucks  up  oaks  or  pushes  them  into  the  ground.  They  come 
to  a  revolving  house  in  a  dark  forest,  which  at  John's  word 
stands  with  its  back  door  to  the  forest  and  its  front  door  to 
them:  all  its  doors  and  windows  open  of  their  own  accord. 
Though  the  yard  is  full  of  poultry,  the  house  is  empty.  Whilst 
the  three  companions  go  hunting,  the  river-swallower  stays  in 
the  house  to  cook  dinner:  this  done,  he  washes  his  head,  and 
sits  at  the  window  to  comb  his  locks.  Suddenly  the  earth  shakes, 
then  stands  still:  a  stone  is  Hfted,  and  from  under  it  appears 
Baba  Yaga  driving  in  her  mortar  with  a  pestle:  behind  her 
comes  barking  a  httle  dog.  A  short  dialogue  ensues,  and  the 
champion,  at  her  request,  gives  her  food;  but  the  second  helping 
she  throws  to  her  dog,  and  thereupon  beats  the  champion  with 

1  Afanasief  (A.  N.),  Narodnuiya  Russkiya  Skazki,  Moscow,  1860-63,  i,  6. 
See  Ralston,  p.  73.  ^  Afanasief,  vin.  No.  6. 


Russian  variants  373 

her  pestle  till  he  becomes  unconscious;  then  she  cuts  a  strip  of 
skin  from  his  back,  and  after  eating  all  the  food,  vanishes.  The 
victim  recovers  his  senses,  ties  up  his  head  with  a  handkerchief, 
and,  when  his  companions  return,  apologizes  for  the  ill-success 
of  his  cooking:  "He  had  been  nearly  suffocated  by  the  fumes  of 
the  charcoal,  and  had  had  his  work  cut  out  to  get  the  room 
clear."  Exactly  the  same  happens  to  the  other  champions.  On 
the  fourth  day  it  is  the  turn  of  John  Bear,  and  here  again  the 
same  formulas  are  repeated.  John  does  the  cooking,  washes  his 
bead,  sits  down  at  the  window  and  begins  to  comb  his  curly 
locks.  Baba  Yaga  appears  with  the  usual  phenomena,  and  the 
usual  dialogue  follows,  till  she  begins  to  belabour  the  hero  with 
her  pestle.  But  he  wrests  it  from  her,  beats  her  almost  to  death, 
cuts  three  strips  from  her  skin,  and  imprisons  her  in  a  closet. 
When  his  companions  return,  they  are  astonished  to  find  dinner 
ready.  After  dinner  they  have  a  bath,  and  the  companions  try 
not  to  show  their  mutilated  backs,  but  at  last  have  to  confess. 
"Now  I  see  why  you  all  suffered  from  suffocation,"  says  John 
Bear.  He  goes  to  the  closet,  takes  the  three  strips  cut  from  his 
friends,  and  reinserts  them:  they  heal  at  once.  Then  he  ties  up 
Baba  Yaga  by  a  cord  fastened  to  one  fOot,  and  they  all  shoot  at 
the  cord  in  turn.  John  Bear  hits  it,  and  cuts  the  string  in  two; 
Baba  Yaga  falls  to  the  earth,  but  rises,  runs  to  the  stone  from 
under  which  she  had  appeared,  hfts  it,  and  vanishes.  Each  of 
the  companions  tries  in  turn  to  Hft  the  stone,  but  only  John 
can  accomplish  it,  and  only  he  is  wilHng  to  go  down.  His  com- 
rades let  him  down  by  a  rope,  which  however  is  too  short,  and 
John  has  to  eke  it  out  by  the  three  strips  previously  cut  from 
the  back  of  Baba  Yaga.  At  the  bottom  he  sees  a  path,  follows 
it,  and  reaches  a  palace  where  are  three  beautiful  maidens,  who 
welcome  him,  but  warn  him  against  their  mother,  who  is  Baba 
Yaga  herself:  "She  is  asleep  now,  but  she  keeps  at  her  head  a 
sword.  Do  not  touch  it,  but  take  two  golden  apples  lying  on  a 
silver  tray,  wake  her  gently,  and  offer  them  to  her.  As  soon  as 
she  begins  to  eat,  seize  the  sword,  and  cut  her  head  off  at  one 
blow."  John  Bear  carries  out  these  instructions,  and  sends  up 
the  maidens,  two  to  be  wives  to  his  companions,  and  the  youngest 
to  be  his  own  wife.  This  leaves  the  third  companion  wifeless 


374  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

and,  in  indignation,  he  cuts  the  rope  when  the  turn  comes  to 
pull  John  up.  The  hero  falls  and  is  badly  hurt.  [John  has  for- 
gotten, in  this  version,  to  put  his  iron  club  into  the  basket 
instead  of  himself — indeed  he  has  up  to  now  made  no  use  of  his 
staff.]  In  time  the  hero  sees  an  underground  passage,  and  makes 
his  way  out  into  the  white  world.  Here  he  finds  the  youngest 
maiden,  who  is  tending  cattle,  after  refusing  to  marry  the  false 
companion.  John  Bear  follows  her  home,  slays  his  former  com- 
rades with  his  staff,  and  throws  their  bodies  on  the  field  for  the 
wild  beasts  to  devour.  He  then  takes  his  sweetheart  home  to 
his  people,  and  weds  her. 

The  abstract  given  above  is  from  a  translation  made  by  one 
of  my  students.  Miss  M.  Steine,  who  tells  me  that  she  had  heard 
the  tale  in  this  form  many  times  from  her  old  nurse  "when  we 
were  being  sent  to  sleep,  or  sitting  round  her  in  the  evening."  I 
have  given  it  at  this  length  because  I  do  not  know  of  any  acces- 
sible translation  into  any  Western  language. 

Panzer  enumerates  two  hundred  and  two  variants  of  the 
story :  and  there  are  others^.  But  there  is  reason  in  the  criticism 
that  what  is  important  for  us  is  the  form  the  folk-tale  may  have 
taken  in  those  countries  where  we  must  look  for  the  original 
home  of  the  Beowulf-stoiy^.  The  Mantuan  folk-tale  may  have 
been  carried  down  to  North  Italy  from  Scandinavia  by  the 
Longobards:  who  can  say?  But  Panzer's  theory  must  stand  or 
fall  by  the  parallels  which  can  be  drawn  between  the  Beowulf- 
Grettir-stoTj  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  folk-tales  as  they  have 
been  collected  in  the  countries  where  this  story  is  native:  the 
lands,  that  is  to  say,  adjoining  the  North  Sea. 

Now  it  is  precisely  here  that  we  do  find  the  most  remarkable 
resemblances:  in  Iceland,  the  Faroes,  Norway,  Denmark,  Jut- 
land, Schleswig,  and  the  Low  German  lands  as  far  as  the  Scheldt. 

An  Icelandic  version  exists  in  an  unprinted  MS  at  Reykja- 
vik^ which  can  be  consulted  in  a  German  translation*.  In  this 

1  For  example,  "Shepherd  Paul,"  in  The  Folk-Tales  of  the  Magyars,  by 
W.  H.  Jones  and  L.  L.  Kropf,  Folk-Lore  Society,  1889,  p.  244.  The  latest  col- 
lection contains  its  version,  'The  Story  of  Taling,  the  Half-boy  '  in  Persian 
Tales,  written  down  for  the  first  time  and  translated  by  D.  L.  R.  and  E.  O.  Lorimer, 
London,  1919.  ^  Qf.  yon  Sydow  in  A.f.d.A.  xxxv,  126. 

3  Ion  Amason's  mss.  No.  536,  4°. 

*  Rittershaus  (A.),  Die  Neuisldndischen  Volksmdrchen,  Halle,  1902,  No.  25. 


North  Sea  variants:  from  Iceland  and  the  Faroes    375 

version  a  bear,  who  is  really  an  enchanted  prince,  carries  off  a 
princess.  He  resumes  his  human  form  and  weds  the  princess, 
but  must  still  at  times  take  the  bear's  form.  His  child,  the 
Bear-boy  (Bjarndreingur),  is  to  be  kept  in  the  house  during  the 
long  periods  when  the  enchanted  husband  is  away.  But  at 
twelve  years  old  the  Bear-boy  is  too  strong  and  unmanageable, 
bursts  out,  and  slays  a  bear  who  turns  out  to  be  his  father. 
His  mother's  heart  is  broken,  but  Bear-boy  goes  on  his  adven- 
tures, and  associates  with  himself  three  companions,  one  of 
whom  is  Stein.  They  build  a  house  in  the  wood,  which  is 
attacked  by  a  giant,  and,  as  usual,  the  companions  are  unable 
to  withstand  the  attacks.  Bear-boy  does  so,  ties  the  giant's 
hands  behind  his  back,  and  fastens  him  by  his  beard.  But  the 
giant  tears  himself  free.  As  in  Beowulf,  Bear-boy  and  his  com- 
panions follow  the  track  by  the  drops  of  blood,  and  come  to  a 
hole.  Stein  is  let  some  way  down,  the  other  companions 
further,  but  only  Bear-boy  dares  to  go  to  the  bottom.  There  he 
finds  a  weeping  princess,  and  learns  that  she,  and  her  two  sisters, 
have  been  carried  off  by  three  giants,  one  of  whom  is  his  former 
assailant.  He  slays  all  three,  and  sends  their  heads  up,  together 
with  the  maidens  and  other  treasures.  But  his  companions 
desert  the  rope,  and  he  has  to  climb  up  unaided.  In  the  end  he 
weds  the  youngest  princess. 

The  story  from  the  Faroe  Islands  runs  thus : 
Three  brothers  lived  together  and  took  turns,  two  to  go  out 
fishing,  and  one  to  be  at  home.  For  two  days,  when  the  two 
elder  brothers  were  at  home,  came  a  giant  with  a  long  beard 
(Skeggjatussi)  and  ate  and  drank  all  the  food.  Then  comes  the 
turn  of  the  despised  youngest  brother,  who  is  called  in  one  version 
0skud61gur — "the  one  who  sits  and  rakes  in  the  ashes" — a  kind 
of  male  Cinderella.  This  brother  routs  the  giant,  either  by  catch- 
ing his  long  beard  in  a  cleft  tree- trunk,  or  by  branding  him  in 
the  nose  with  a  hot  iron.  In  either  case  the  mutilated  giant 
escapes  down  a  hole:  in  one  version,  after  the  other  brothers 
come  home,  they  follow  him  to  this  bole  by  the  track  of  his 
blood.  The  two  elder  brothers  leave  the  task  of  plunging  down 
to  the  youngest  one,  who  finds  below  a  girl  (in  the  second  version, 
two  kidnapped  princesses).   He  finds  also  a  magic  sword  hanging 


376  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

on  the  wall,  which  he  is  only  able  to  Hft  when  he  has  drunk 
a  magic  potion.  He  then  slays  the  giant,  rescues  the  maiden  or 
maidens,  is  betrayed  in  the  usual  way  by  his  brothers:  in  the 
one  version  they  dehberately  refuse  to  draw  him  up:  in  the 
other  they  cut  the  rope  as  they  are  doing  so :  but  he  is  discreetly 
sending  up  only  a  big  stone.  The  hero  is  helped  out,  however, 
by  a  giant,  "Skrseddi  Kjalki"  or  "Snerkti  risi,"  and  in  the  end 
marries  the  princess^. 

In  the  Norwegian  folk-tale  the  three  adventurers  are  called 
respectively  the  Captain,  the  Lieutenant  and  the  Soldier.  They 
search  for  the  three  princesses,  and  watch  in  a  castle,  where  the 
Captain  and  Lieutenant  are  in  turn  worsted  by  a  strange  visitor 
— who  in  this  version  is  not  identical  with  the  troll  below  ground 
who  guards  the  princesses  2.  When  the  turn  of  the  Soldier  comes, 
he  seizes  the  intruder  (the  man,  as  he  is  called). 

"Ah  no.  Ah  no,  spare  my  life,"  said  the  man,  "and  you 
shall  know  all.  East  of  the  castle  is  a  great  sandheap,  and 
down  in  it  a  winch,  with  which  you  can  lower  yourself. 
But  if  you  are  afraid,  and  do  not  dare  to  go  right  down, 
you  only  need  to  pull  the  bell  rope  which  you  will  find 
there,  and  up  you  will  come  again.  But  if  you  dare  venture 
so  far  as  to  come  to  the  bottom,  there  stands  a  flask  on  a 
shelf  over  the  door :  you  must  drink  what  is  in  it :  so  will 
you  become  so  strong  that  you  can  strike  the  head  off  the 
troll  of  the  mountain.  And  by  the  door  there  hangs  a 
Troll-sword,  which  also  you  must  take,  for  no  other  steel 
will  bite  on  his  body." 

When  he  had  learnt  this,  he  let  the  man  go.  When  the 
Captain  and  the  Lieutenant  came  home,  they  were  not  a 
httle  surprised  to  find  the  Soldier  ahve.  "How  have  you 
escaped  a  drubbing,"  said  they,  "has  not  the  man  been 

1  Fs&rjiske  Folkesagn  og  Mventyr,  ed.  by  Jakob  Jakobsen,  1898-1901, 
pp.  241-4  {Samfund  til  Udgivelse  af  gammel  Nordisk  Litteratur). 

2  This  folk-tale  is  given  in  a  small  book,  to  be  found  in  the  Christiania 
University  Library,  and  no  doubt  elsewhere  in  Norway :  Nor,  en  Billedhog  for 
den  norske  Ungdom  (Tredie  Oplag,  Christiania,  1865).  Norske  Folke-Eventyr  og 
Sagn,  fortalte  af  P.  Chr.  Asbj£^rnsen.  A  copy  of  the  story,  slightly  altered, 
occurs  in  the  Udvalgte  Eventyr  og  Sagn  for  B^rn,  of  Knutsen,  Bentsen  and 
Johnsson,  Christiania,  1877,  p.  58  etc. 


North  Sea  variants:  from  Norway  and  Denmarh    ^77 

here? '*  "Oh  yes,  he  is  quite  a  good  fellow,  he  is,"  said  the 
Soldier,  "I  have  learnt  from  him  where  the  princesses  are,'* 
and  he  told  them  all.  They  were  glad  when  they  heard  that, 
and  when  they  had  eaten,  they  went  all  three  to  the  sandheap. 

As  usual,  the  Captain  and  the  Lieutenant  do  not  dare  to  go 
to  the  bottom :  the  hero  accomplishes  the  adventure,  is  (as  usual) 
betrayed  by  his  comrades,  but  is  saved  because  he  has  put  a 
stone  in  the  basket  instead  of  himself,  and  in  the  end  is  rescued 
by  the  interposition  of  "  Kl^verhans." 

What  is  the  explanation  of  the  "  sandheap  "  (sandhaug)  I  do 
not  know.  But  one  cannot  forget  that  Grettir's  adventure  in 
the  house,  followed  by  his  adventure  with  the  troll  under  the 
earth,  is  locaHzed  at  Sandhaugar.  This  may  be  a  mere  accident; 
but  it  is  worth  noting  that  in  following  up  the  track  indicated 
by  Panzer  we  come  across  startling  coincidences  of  this  kind. 
As  stated  above,  it  can  hardly  be  due  to  any  influence  of  the 
Grettis  Saga  upon  the  folk-tale^.  The  Hkeness  between  the  two 
is  too  remote  to  have  suggested  a  transference  of  such  details 
from  the  one  story  to  the  other. 

We  find  the  story  in  its  normal  form  in  Jutland^.  The  hero, 
a  foundling,  is  named  Bj0rn0re  (Bear-ears).  There  is  no  explana- 
tion offered  of  this  name,  but  we  know  that  in  other  versions  of 
the  story,  where  the  hero  is  half  bear  and  half  man,  his  bear 
nature  is  shown  by  his  bear's  ears.  "Bear-ears"  comes  with  his 
companions  to  an  empty  house,  worsts  the  foe  (the  old  man, 
den  gamle)  who  has  put  his  companions  to  shame,  and  fixes  him 
by  his  beard  in  a  cloven  tree.  The  foe  escapes  nevertheless ;  they 
follow  him  to  his  hole:  the  companions  are  afraid,  but  "Bear- 
ears"  is  let  down,  finds  the  enemy  on  his  bed,  and  slays  him. 
The  rest  of  the  story  follows  the  usual  pattern.  "Bear-ears" 
rescues  and  sends  up  the  princesses,  his  comrades  detach  the 
rope,  which  however  is  hauHng  up  only  the  hero's  iron  club.  He 
escapes  miraculously  from  his  confinement  below,  and  returns  to 
marry  the  youngest  princess.  In  another  Danish  version,  from 
the  South  of  Zealand^,  the  hero,  "Strong  Hans"  (nothing  is  said 

1  pp.  66-7. 

*  Bemtsen  (K.),  Folke-Mventyr,  1873,  No.  12,  pp.  109-115. 

2  Grundtvig  (Sv.),  Gamle  Danske  Minder,  1854,  No.  34,  p.  33:  from  Nffistved. 


378  Bee-wolf  and  Bear*s  son 

about  his  bear-origin),  comes  with  his  companions  to  a  mag- 
nificent but  empty  castle.  The  old  witch  worsts  his  comrades 
and  imprisons  them  under  the  trap-door:  but  Hans  beats  her, 
and  rescues  them,  though  the  witch  herself  escapes.  Hans  is  let 
down,  rescues  the  princesses,  is  betrayed  by  his  comrades  (who, 
thinking  to  drop  him  in  drawing  him  up,  only  drop  his  iron 
club),  and  finally  weds  the  third  princess. 

A  little  further  South  we  have  three  versions  of  the  same 
tale  recorded  for  Schleswig-Holstein^.  The  hero  wins  his  victory 
below  by  means  of  "a  great  iron  sword"  (en  grotes  ysernes 
Schwdert)  which  he  can  only  wield  after  drinking  of  the  magic 
potion. 

From  Hanover  comes  the  story  of  Peter  Bar^,  which  shows 
all  the  famihar  features:  from  the  same  district  came  some  of 
Grimm's  variants.  Others  were  from  the  Rhine  provinces:  but 
the  fullest  version  of  all  comes  from  the  Scheldt,  just  over  the 
Flemish  border.  The  hero,  Jean  I'Ourson,  is  recovered  as  a  child 
from  a  bear's  den,  is  despised  in  his  youth ^,  but  gives  early  proof 
of  his  strength.  He  defends  an  empty  castle  un  superbe  chateau, 
when  his  companion  has  failed,  strikes  off  an  arm*  of  his  assailant 
Petit- Pere-Bidoux,  chases  him  to  his  hole,  un  fuits  vaste  et  fro- 
fond.  He  is  let  down  by  his  companion,  but  finding  the  rope  too 
short,  plunges,  and  arrives  battered  at  the  bottom.  There  he 
perceives  une  lumiere  qui  brillait  au  bout  d'une  longue  galerie^. 
At  the  end  of  the  gallery  he  sees  his  former  assailant,  attended 
by  une  vieillefemme  a  cheveux  blancs,  qui  semblait  dgee  de  plus  de 
cent  ans,  who  is  salving  his  wounded  arm.  The  hero  quenches 
the  hght  (which  is  a  magic  one)  smites  his  foe  on  the  head  and 
kills  him,  and  then  rekindles  the  lamp^.  His  companion  above 
seeks  to  rob  him  of  the  two  princesses  he  has  won,  by  detaching 
the  rope.  Nevertheless,  he  escapes,  weds  the  good  princess,  and 
punishes  his  faithless  companion  by  making  him  wed  the  bad  one. 

The  white-haired  old  woman  is  not  spoken  of  as  the  mother 

1  Hans  mit  de  ysern  Stang\  MiillenhofF,  Sagen,  Mdrchen  u.  Lieder... 1S4:5. 
No.  XVI,  p.  437. 

2  Colshom  {C.aLndTh.)y Mdrchen  u.  Sagen,  Hannover,  1854,  No.  v,  pp.  18-30^ 

3  Cf.  Beovmlf,  li.  2183-8. 

*  Cf.  Beovmlf,  U.  816  etc. 

«  Cf.  Beovmlf,  U.  1516-17;  cf.  Grettis  Saga,  lxvi. 

•  Cf.  Oreitis  Saga,  lxvi,  kann  kveikti  Ijos;  cf.  Beowulf,  1570. 


North  Sea  variants:  from  Schleswig  and  the  Scheldt    379 

of  the  foe  she  is  nursing,  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  she  is 
in  any  way  parallel  to  Grendel's  mother.  The  hero  does  not  fight 
her :  indeed  it  is  she  who,  in  the  end,  enables  him  to  escape.  Still 
the  parallels  between  Jean  I'Ourson  and  Beowulf  are  striking 
enough.  Nine  distinct  features  recur,  in  the  same  order,  in  the 
Beowulf-story  and  in  this  folk-tale.  It  needs  a  more  robust  faith 
than  I  possess  to  attribute  this  solely  to  chance. 

Unfortunately,  this  French-Flemish  tale  is  found  in  a  some- 
what sophisticated  collection.  Its  recorder,  as  Sainte-Beuve 
points  out  in  his  letter  introductory  to  the  series^,  uses  literary 
touches  which  diminish  the  value  of  his  folk- tales  to  the  student 
of  origins.  Any  contamination  from  the  Beowulf-stoiy  or  the 
Grettir-stoTj  is  surely  improbable  enough  in  this  case:  never- 
theless, one  would  have  hked  the  tale  taken  down  verbatim 
from  the  hps  of  some  simple-minded  narrator  as  it  used  to  be 
told  at  Conde  on  the  Scheldt. 

But  if  we  take  together  the  different  versions  enumerated 
above,  the  result  is,  I  think,  convincing.  Here  are  eight  versions 
of  one  folk-tale  taken  as  representatives  from  a  much  larger 
number  current  in  the  countries  in  touch  with  the  North  Sea : 
from  Iceland,  the  Faroes,  Norway,  Jutland,  Zealand,  Schleswig, 
Hanover,  and  the  Scheldt.  The  champion  is  a  bear-hero  (as 
Beowulf  almost  certainly  is,  and  as  Bjarki  quite  certainly  is); 
he  is  called,  in  Iceland,  Bjarndreingur,  in  Jutland,  Bj^rn(fre,  in 
Hanover,  Peter  Bar,  on  the  Scheldt  Jean  VOurson.  Like  Beowulf, 
he  is  despised  in  his  youth  (Faroe,  Scheldt).  In  all  versions  he 
resists  his  adversary  in  an  empty  house  or  castle,  after  his  com- 
rades have  failed.  In  most  versions  of  the  folk-tale  this  is  the 
third  attack,  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  Grettir  at  Sandhaugar  and  of 
Bjarki:  in  Beowulf,  on  the  contrary,  we  gather  that  Heorot  has 
been  raided  many  times.  The  adversary,  though  vanquished, 
escapes;  in  one  version  after  the  loss  of  an  arm  (Scheldt):  they 
follow  his  track  to  the  hole  into  which  he  has  vanished,  some- 
times, as  in  Beowulf,  marking  traces  of  his  blood  (Iceland,  Faroe, 
Schleswig).  The  hero  always  ventures  down  alone,  and  gets  into 

^  Contes  du  roi  CamJhrinus,  par  C.  Deulin,  Paris,  1874  (I.  Uintrdpide  QayarU). 
The  story  is  associated  with  Gayant,  the  traditional  hero  of  Douai. 


380  ~  Bee-wolf  and  Bear's  son 

an  underworld  of  magic,  which  has  left  traces  of  its  mysterious- 
ness  in  Beowulf.  In  one  tale  (Scheldt)  the  hero  sees  a  magic 
lamp  burning  below,  just  as  he  sees  the  i&re  in  Beowulf  or  the 
Grettis  Saga.  He  overcomes  either  his  original  foe,  or  new  ones, 
often  by  the  use  of  a  magic  sword  (Faroe,  Norway,  Schleswig) ; 
this  sword  hangs  by  the  door  (Norway)  or  on  the  wall  (Faroe) 
as  in  Beowulf.  After  slaying  his  foe,  the  hero  rekindles  the  magic 
lamp,  in  the  Scheldt  fairy  tale,  just  as  he  kindles  a  hght  in  the 
Grettis  Saga,  and  as  the  Hght  flashes  up  in  Beowulf  after  the  hero 
has  smitten  Grendel's  mother.  The  hero  is  in  each  case  deserted 
by  his  companions:  a  feature  which,  while  it  is  marked  in  the 
Grettis  Saga,  can  obviously  be  allowed  to  survive  in  Beowulf 
only  in  a  much  softened  form.  The  chosen  retainers  whom 
Beowulf  has  taken  with  him  on  his  journey  could  not  be  repre- 
sented as  unfaithful,  because  the  poet  is  reserving  the  episode 
of  the  faithless  retainers  for  the  death  of  Beowulf.  To  have  twice 
represented  the  escort  as  cowardly  would  have  made  the  poem 
a  satire  upon  the  comitatus,  and  would  have  assured  it  a  hostile 
reception  in  every  hall  from  Canterbury  to  Edinburgh.  But 
there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  faithlessness  of  the  comrade  Stein 
in  the  Grettis  Saga.  And  in  Zealand,  one  of  the  faithless  com- 
panions is  called  Stenhuggeren  (the  Stone-hewer),  in  Schleswig 
SteenUower,  in  Hanover  Steinsfieler,  whilst  in  Iceland  he  has 
the  same  name,  Stein,  which  he  has  in  the  Grettis  Saga. 

The  fact  that  the  departure  home  of  the  Danes  in  Beowulf  is 
due  to  the  same  cause  as  that  which  accounts  for  the  betrayal 
of  his  trust  by  Stein,  shows  that  in  the  original  Beowulf-stoTj 
also  this  feature  must  have  occurred,  however  much  it  may 
have  become  worn  down  in  the  existing  epic. 

I  think  enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  there  is  a  real 
.  Hkeness  between  a  large  number  of  recorded  folk-tales  and  the 
J  Beoivulf-Grettir  story.  The  parallel  is  not  merely  with  an  arti- 
ficial, theoretical  composite  put  together  by  Panzer.  But  it 
becomes  equally  clear  that  Beowulf  cannot  be  spoken  of  as  a 
version  of  these  folk-tales.  At  most  it  is  a  version  of  a  portion 
of  them.  The  omission  of  the  princesses  in  Beowulf  and  the 
Grettis  Saga  is  fundamental.  With  the  princesses  much  else  falls 
away.  There  is  no  longer  any  motive  for  the  betrayal  of  trust 


The  date  of  the  death  of  Hygelac  381 

by  the  watchers.  The  disguise  of  the  hero  and  his  vengeance  are 
now  no  longer  necessary  to  the  tale. 

It  might  be  argued  that  there  was  something  about  the  three 
princesses  which  made  them  unsatisfactory  as  subjects  of  story. 
It  has  been  thought  that  in  the  oldest  version  the  hero  married 
all  three:  an  awkward  episode  where  a  scop  had  to  compose  a 
poem  for  an  audience  certainly  monogamous  and  most  probably 
Christian.  The  rather  tragic  and  sombre  atmosphere  of  the 
stories  of  Beowulf  and  Grettir  fits  in  better  with  a  version  from 
which  the  princesses,  and  the  hving  happily  ever  afterwards, 
have  been  dropped.  On  the  other  hand,  it  might  be  argued  that 
the  folk-tale  is  composite,  and  that  the  source  from  which  the 
Beowulf-Grettir-8toTj  drew  was  a  simpler  tale  to  which  the 
princesses  had  not  yet  been  added. 

And  there  are  additions  as  well  as  subtractions.  Alike  in 
Beowulf  and  in  the  Grefiis  Saga,  the  fight  in  the  house  and  the 
fight  below  are  associated  with  struggles  with  monsters  of 
different  sex.  The  association  of  "  The  Devil  and  his  Dam  "  has 
only  few  and  remote  parallels  in  the  "  Bear's-son  "  folk-tale. 

But  Panzer  has,  I  think,  proved  that  the  struggle  of  Beowulf 
in  the  hall,  and  his  plunging  down  into  the  deep,  is  simply  an 
epic  glorification  of  a  folk-tale  motive. 

X.      I.  THE  DATE  OF  THE  DEATH  OF  HYGELAC.    \ 

Gregory  of  Tours  mentions  the  defeat  of  Chochilaicus 
(Hygelac)  as  an  event  of  the  reign  of  Theudoric.  Now 
Theudoric  succeeded  his  father  Chlodoweg,  who  died  27  Nov. 
511.  Theudoric  died  in  534.  This,  then,  gives  the  extreme  Hmits 
of  time;  but  as  Gregory  mentions  the  event  among  the  first 
occurrences  of  the  reign,  the  period  512-520  has  generally  been 
suggested,  or  in  round  numbers  about  515  or  516. 

Nevertheless,  we  cannot  attach  much  importance  to  the 

mere  order  followed  by  Gregory^.    He  may  well  have  had  no 

means  of  dating  the  event  exactly.    Of  much  more  importance 

than  the  order,  is  the  fact  he  records,  that  Theudoric  did  not 

^  Cf.  Schmidt,  Oeschichte  der  deutachen  Stdmme,  n,  495,  499,  note  4. 


382  The  date  of  the  death  of  Hygelac 

defeat  Chocliilaicus  in  person,  but  sent  his  son  Theudobert  to 
repel  the  invaders. 

Now  Theudobert  was  born  before  the  death  of  his  grand- 
father Chlodoweg.  For  Gregory  tells  us  that  Chlodoweg  left, 
not  only  four  sons,  but  a  grandson  Theudobert,  elegantem  atque 
utilem^:  utilem  cannot  mean  that,  at  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Chlodoweg,  Theudobert  was  of  age  to  conduct  affairs  of  state, 
for  Chlodoweg  was  only  45  at  death^.  The  Merovingians  were 
a  precocious  race;  but  if  we  are  to  allow  Theudobert  to  have 
been  at  least  fifteen  before  being  placed  in  charge  of  a  very 
important  expedition,  and  Chlodoweg  to  have  been  at  least 
forty  before  becoming  a  grandfather,  the  defeat  of  Hygelac 
cannot  be  put  before  521;  and  probabihty  would  favour  a  date 
five  or  ten  years  later. 

There  is  confirmation  for  this.  When  Theudobert  died,  in 
548,  he  left  one  son  only,  quite  a  child  and  still  under  tutelage^; 
probably  therefore  not  more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  at  most. 
We  know  the  circumstances  of  the  child's  birth.  Theudobert  had 
been  betrothed  by  his  father  Theudoric  to  a  Longobardic  prin- 
cess, Wisigardis*.  In  the  meantime  he  fell  in  love  with  the  lady 
Deoteria^,  and  married  her^.  The  Franks  were  shocked  at  this 
fickleness  (valde  scandalizabantur),  and  Theudobert  had  ulti- 
mately to  put  away  Deoteria^,  although  they  had  this  young 
son  {farvulum  filium),  who,  as  we  have  seen,  could  hardly  have 
been  born  before  535,  and  possibly  was  born  years  later. 
Theudobert  then  married  the  Longobardic  princess,  in  the 
seventh  year  after  their  betrothal.  So  it  cannot  have  been 
much  before  530  that  Theudobert's  father  was  first  arranging 
the  Longobardic  match.  A  king  is  not  likely  to  have  waited  to 
find  a  wife  for  a  son,  upon  whom  his  dynasty  was  to  depend, 
till  fifteen  years  after  that  son  was  of  age  to  win  a  memorable 
victory  ^. 

1  III,  1.  ,       ^  "'  ^^• 

^  Ilais...vios  TJv  KOfiidrj,  Kai  ^tl  virb  iraidoKSfii^  TL6r]vo{>fi€vos,  Agathias,  I,  4: 
parvulus,  Gregory,  iv,  6. 

"^  Gregory,  ni,  20.  ^  m,  22.  «  in,  23.  '  in,  27. 

8  Many  recent  historians  have  expressed  doubts  as  to  the  conventional 
date,  515,  for  Hygelac's  death.  J.  P.  Jacobsen,  in  the  Danish  translation  of  Gregory 
(1911)  suggested  525-30:  following  him  Severinsen  [Danske  Studier,  1919,  96) 
suggested  c.  526,  as  did  Fredborg,  Detforsta  artalet  i  Sveriges  historia.  L.  Schmidt 
{Oeschichte  der  deutschen  Stdmme,  n,  500,  note,  1918)  suggested  c.  528. 


PLATE  VIII. 


SOUTHERN  SCANDINAVIA  IN  THE  SIXTH  CENTURY 


^|fe^^4:^3^: 


f -y    -     I 

%  ^    — ^^ —  It 

ENGLISH  BOAR-HELMET  AND  RING-SWORDS 

I.  Benty  Grange  Helmet  (Roach  Smith,  Collectanea  Antiqua,  ii,  238). 
II.  Pommel  of  Ring-Sword  from  Faversham,  Kent  {Ibid,  vi,  139). 
III.  Pommel  of  Ring-Sword  from  Gilton,  Kent  {Archasologia,  xxx,  132). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OP  BEOWULF  AND 
FINNSBURO 


I  remember  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty  that  I  could  bring  my  master  to  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  the  word  opinion,  or  how  a  point  could  be  disputable;  because 
reason  taught  us  to  affirm  or  deny  only  where  we  are  certain;  and  beyond  our 
knowledge  we  cannot  do  either.  So  that  controversies,  wranglings,  disputes,  and 
positiveness  in  false  or  dubious  propositions  are  evils  unknown  among  the 
Houyhnhnms....B.e  would  laugh  that  a  creature  pretending  to  reason  should  value 
itself  upon  the  knowledge  of  other  people's  conjectures,  and  in  things,  where  that 
knowledge,  if  it  were  certain,  could  be  of  no  use.... 

I  have  often  since  reflected  what  destruction  such  a  doctrine  would  make  in 
the  libraries  of  Europe. 

GrvUiver's  Travels. 

The  following  items  are  (except  in  special  cases)  not  included  in  this 
bibliography : 

(a)  Articles  dealing  with  single  passages  in  Beowulf,  or  two  passages  only, 
in  cases  where  they  have  already  been  recorded  under  the  appro- 
priate passage  in  the  footnotes  to  the  text,  or  in  the  glossary,  of 
my  revision  of  Wyatt's  edition. 
(6)  Articles  dealing  with  the  emendation  or  interpretation  of  single  pas- 
sages, in  cases  where  such  emendations  have  been  withdrawn  by 
their  author  himself. 

(c)  Purely  popular  paraphrases  or  summaries. 

(d)  Purely  personal  protests  (e.g.,  P.B.B.  xxi,  436),  however  well  founded, 

in  which  no  point  of  scholarship  is  any  longer  involved. 

Books  dealing  with  other  subjects,  but  illustrating  Beoivulf,  present  a  diffi- 
culty. Such  books  may  have  a  value  for  Beowulf  students,  even  though  the 
author  may  never  refer  to  our  poem,  and  have  occasionally  been  included  in 
previous  bibliographies.  But,  imless  Beowulf  is  closely  concerned,  these  books 
are  not  usually  mentioned  below :  such  enumeration,  if  carried  out  consistently, 
would  clog  a  bibliography  already  all  too  bulky.  Thus,  Siecke's  Drcichenkdmpfe 
does  not  seem  to  come  within  the  scope  of  this  bibliography,  because  the  author 
is  not  concerned  with  Beowulf's  dragon. 

Obviously  every  general  discussion  of  Old  English  metre  must  concern 
itself  largely  with  Beowulf:  for  such  treatises  the  student  is  referred  to  the 
section  Metrik  of  Brand] 's  Bibliography  {Pauls  Or  dr.);  and,  for  Old  English 
heroic  legend  in  general,  to  the  Bibliography  of  my  edition  of  Widsith. 

Many  scholars,  e.g.  Heinzel,  have  put  iuto  their  reviews  of  the  books  of 
others,  much  original  work  which  might  well  have  formed  the  material  for 
independent  articles.  Such  reviews  are  noted  as  "weighty,"  but  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  the  reviews  not  so  marked  are  negligible ;  unless  of  some  value 
to  scholarship,  reviews  are  not  usually  mentioned  below. 

The  title  of  any  book,  article  or  review  which  I  have  not  seen  and  verified 
is  denoted  by  the  sign  f. 


384  Bibliography 

SUMMARY 
§  1.   Periodicals. 
§  2.   Bibliographies. 
§  3.   The  MS  and  its  transcripts. 
§4.    Editions. 
§  5.   Concordances,  etc. 

§  6.   Translations  (including  early  summaries). 
§  7.   Textual  criticism  and  interpretation. 

§  8.    Questions  of  literary  history,  date  and  authorship.    Beoumlf  in  the 
light  of  history,  archaeology^,  heroic  legend,  mythology  and  folk-lore. 
§  9.   Style  and  Grammar. 
§10.   Metre. 

§1.   PERIODICALS 

The  periodicals  most  frequently  quoted  are : 
A.f.d.A.  =  Anzeiger  fUr  deutsches  Alterthum.   Berlin,  1876  etc. 
A.f.n.F.  =Arkiv  for  nordisk  Filologi.     Christiania,   Lund,   1883  etc.     Quoted 

according  to  the  original  numbering. 
Anglia.    Halle,  1878  etc. 
Archiv  =  lieTTiga  Archiv  fiir  das  Studium  der  neueren  Sprachen  und  Littera- 

turen.    Elberfeld,  Braunschweig,  1846  etc.    Quoted  according  to  the  original 

numbering. 
D.L.Z.  =  Deutsche  Literatur-Zeitung.    Berlin,  1880  etc. 
Engl,  ^f tw^.  =  Englische  Studien.   Heilbronn,  Leipzig,  1877  etc. 
Germania.   Wien,  1856-92. 

/.I''.  =Indogermanische  Forschungen.   Strassburg,  1892  etc. 
J. {E.)G.Ph.=  Journal  of   (EngUsh   and)   Germanic   Philology.     Bloomington, 

Urbana,  1897  etc. 
Lit.  Chi.  =  Literarisches  Centralblatt.    Leipzig,  1851  etc. 
Literaturhlatt  fiir  germanische  und  romanische  Philologie.    Heilbronn,  Leipzig,. 

1880  etc. 
3f.i/.iV.=:  Modem  Language  Notes.    Baltimore,  1886  etc.    Quoted  by  the  page, 

Twt  the  column. 
M.L.R.  =The  Modem  Language  Review.   Cambridge,  1906  etc. 
Mod.  Phil.  =  Modem  Philology.   Chicago,  1903  etc. 
Morsbachs  Studien  zur  englischen  Philologie.    Halle,  1897  etc. 
P.J5.5.  =Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Sprache  u.  Litteratur.    Halle, 

1874  etc. 
Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  ^mer.  =  Publications  of  the  Modem  Language  Associ- 
ation of  America.   Baltimore,  1889  etc. 
Z.f.d.A.  =ZeitschTiit  fiir  deutsches  Alterthum.   Leipzig,  Berlin,  1841  etc. 
Z.f.d.Ph.  =Za,cheTs  Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsche  Philologie.    Halle,  1869  etc. 
Z.f .6.0.  =Zeitschnit  fiir  die  osterreichischen  Gymnasien.   Wien,  1850  etc. 

The  titles  of  other  periodicals  are  given  with  sufficient  fulness  for  easy 
identification. 

^  Archaeological  works  bearing  less  directly  upon  Beowulf  are  enumerated 
in  Appendix  F;  that  enumeration  is  not  repeated  here. 


Bibliographies:  the  MS  385 

§2.   BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Bibliographies  have  been  pubhshed  from  time  to  time  as  a  supplement  to 
Anglia;  also  in  the  Jahresbericht  uber...german.  Philologie;  by  Gamett  in  his 
Translation,  1882  etc.;  and  will  be  found  in 

Wiilker's  Grundriss  (with  very  useful  abstracts),  1885,  pp.  246  etc. 

Clark  Hall's  Translation,  1901,  1911. 

Holthausen's  Beowulf,  1906,  1909,  1913,  1919. 

Brandl's  Englische  Literatur,  in  Pauls  Ordr.{2),  n,  1015-24  (full,  but  not 

so  reliable  as  Holthausen's). 
Sedgefield's  Beowulf,  1910,  1913  (carefully  selected). 
An  excellent  critical  bibliography  of  jBeot^wZ/-translations  up  to  1903  is  that 
of  Tinker :  see  under  §  6,  Translations. 

§  3.  THE  MS  AND  ITS  TRANSCRIPTS 

Beowulf  fills  ff.  129  (132)a  to  198  (201)6  of  the  British  Museum  MS  Cotton 
Vitellius  A.  XV. 

BeounUfia  written  in  two  hands,  the  first  of  which  goes  to  1.  1939.  This  hand 
was  identified  by  Prof.  Sedgefield  {Beowulf,  Introduction,  p.  xiv,  footnote)  with 
that  of  the  piece  immediately  preceding  Beowulf  in  the  MS,  and  by  Mr  Kenneth 
Sisam,  in  1916,  with  that  of  all  three  immediately  preceding  pieces:  the 
Christopher  fragment,  the  Wonders  of  the  East,  and  the  Letter  of  Alexander  on 
the  Wonders  of  India.  The  pieces  preceding  these,  however  (the  Soliloquies  of 
8.  Augustine,  the  Gospel  of  Nicodemus,  Salomon  and  Saturn),  are  certainly  not 
in  the  same  hand,  and  their  connection  with  the  Beowulf -m^  is  simply  due  to 
the  bookbinder. 

From  1.  1939  to  the  end,  Beowulf  \%  written  in  a  second  hand,  thicker  and  less 
elegant  than  the  first.  This  second  hand  seems  to  be  clearly  identical  with  that 
in  which  the  poem  of  Judith,  immediately  following  Beowulf,  is  written.  This 
was  pointed  out  by  Sievers  in  1872  {Z.f.d.A.  xv,  457),  and  has  never,  I  think, 
been  disputed  (cf.  Sisam,  p.  337;  Forster,  p.  31).  Nevertheless  the  two  poems 
have  probably  not  always  formed  one  book.  For  the  last  page  of  Beowulf  was 
apparently  once  the  last  page  of  the  volume,  to  judge  from  its  battered  con- 
dition, whilst  Judith  is  imperfect  at  the  beginning.  And  there  are  trifling 
difiEerences,  e.g.  in  the  frequency  of  the  use  of  contractions,  and  the  form  of 
the  capital  H. 

This  identity  of  the  scribe  of  the  second  portion  of  Beowulf  and  the  Judith 
scribe,  together  with  the  identity  (pointed  out  by  Mr  Sisam)  of  the  scribe  of 
the  first  portion  of  Beoumlf  and  the  scribe  of  the  three  preceding  works,  is 
important.  A  detailed  comparison  of  these  texts  will  throw  light  upon  the 
characteristics  of  the  scribes. 

That  the  three  preceding  works  are  in  the  same  hand  as  that  of  the  first 
Beoumlf  scribe  was  again  announced,  independently  of  Mr  Sisam,  by  Prof.  Max 
Forster,  in  1919.  Sievers  had  already  in  1871  arrived  at  the  same  result  (see 
Forster,  p.  35,  note)  but  had  not  published  it. 

It  seems   to   me  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that  the  Beowvlf-va 
has  lost  its  ending,  as  Prof.  Forster  thinks  (pp.  82,  88).   Surely  nothing  could 
be  better  than  the  conclusion  of  the  poem  as  it  stands  in  the  MS:  that  the 
O.B.  25 


c 


386  Bibliography 

casual  loss  of  a  number  of  leaves  could  have  resulted  in  so  satisfactory  a  con- 
clusion is,  I  think,  not  conceivable.  Moreover,  the  scribe  has  crammed  as  much 
material  as  possible  into  the  last  leaf  of  Beoiimlf,  making  his  lines  abnormally 
long,  and  using  contractions  in  a  way  he  does  not  use  them  elsewhere.  The 
only  reason  for  this  must  be  to  avoid  running  over  into  a  new  leaf  or  quire: 
there  could  be  no  motive  for  this  crowded  page  if  the  poem  had  ever  run  on 
beyond  it. 

There  is  pretty  general  agreement  that  the  date  of  the  Beowulf -MS  is  about 
the  year  1000,  and  that  it  is  somewhat  more  likely  to  be  before  that  date  than 
after. 

The  Beotimlf-MS  was  injured  in  the  great  Cottonian  fire  of  1731,  and  the 
edges  of  the  parchment  have  since  chipped  away  owing  to  the  damage  then 
sustained.  Valuable  assistance  can  therefore  be  derived  from  the  two  tran- 
scripts now  preserved  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Copenhagen,  made  in  1787, 
when  the  MS  was  much  less  damaged. 

A.  Poema   anglosaxonicum    de    rebus    gestis    Danorum... fecit  exscribi 

Londini  a.d.  mdcclxxxvh  Grimus  Johannis  Thorkehn. 

B.  Poema  anglosaxonicum  de  Danorum  rebus  gestis... exscripsit  Grimus 

Johannis  Thorkelin.   Londini  MDCCtxxxvn. 

The  first  description  of  the  Beowulf-us  is  in  1705  by  H.  Wanley  {Librorum 
Septentrionalium...Catalogus,  pp.  218-19,  Oxonise,  forming  vol.  n  of  Hickes' 
Thesaurus).  Two  short  extracts  from  the  MS  are  given  by  Wanley.  He  describes 
the  poem  as  telling  of  the  wars  quse  Beovmlfus  quidam  Danus,  ex  regio  Scyl- 
dingorum  stirpe  ortus,  gessit  contra  Suecise  regulos.  The  text  was  printed  by 
Thoekemn  in  1815,  and  the  MS  was  collated  by  Conybeare,  who  in  his 
Illustrations  (1826)  issued  19  pages  of  corrections  of  Thorkelin.  These  cor- 
rections were  further  corrected  by  J.  M.  Kemble  in  1837  (Letter  to  M.  Francisque 
Michel,  in  Michel's  Bibliotheque  Anglo-Saxonne,  pp.  20,  51-8).  Meantime 
Kemble's  text  had  been  issued  in  1833,  based  upon  his  examination  of  the  MS. 
The  MS  was  also  seen  by  Thobpe  (in  1830:  Thorpe's  text  was  not  published 
till  1855)  and  by  Gbundtvig  (pub.  1861).  A  further  collation  was  that  of 
E.  KoLBiNG  in  1876  (Zur  Beovulf-handschrift,  Archiv,  lvi,  91-118).  Kolbing's 
collation  proves  the  superiority  of  Kemble's  text  to  Grundtvig's.  Line  for  line 
transcripts  of  the  MS  were  those  of  Holder,  Wiilker  and  Zupitza: 

1881  Holder,  A.  Beowulf.  Bd.  i.  Abdruck  der  Handschrift.  Freiburg  u. 
Tubingen.  ({1881,  from  collation  made  in  1875.)  Reviews:  Kolbing, 
Engl.  Stud,  vn,  488;  Kluge,  Literaturblatt,  1883,  178;  Wulker,  Lit.  Cbl. 
1882,  1035-6. 

1882.  2Aufl. 

1895.   3  Aufl.    Reviews:  Dieter,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  vi,  260-1 ;  Brandl, 
Z.f.d.A.  XL,  90. 

1881  Wulker,  R.  P.   Beowulf:  Text  nach  der  handschrift,  in  Grein's  Bibliothek, 

1, 18-148. 

1882  Zupitza,  J.    Beowulf.    Autotypes  of  the  unique  Cotton  MS.  Vitellius  A 

XV;  with  a  transliteration  and  notes.  Early  English  Text  Society, 
London.  Reviews:  Trautmann,  Anglia,  vii,  Anzeiger,  41;  Kolbing, 
Engl.  Stud,  vn,  482  etc.;  Varnhagen,  A.f.d.A.  x,  304;  Sievers,  Lit.  CbL 
1884,  124. 


The  MS:  Editions  387 

Further  discussion  of  the  MS  by 

1890  Davidson,  C.  Differences  between  the  scribes  of  Beowulf.  M.L.N,  v, 
43-4;  McClumpha,  C,  criticizes  the  above,  M.L.N,  v,  123;  reply  by 
Davidson,  M.L.N,  v,  189-90. 

1910  Lamb,  Evelyn  H.  "Beowulf":  Hemming  of  Worcester.  Notes  and 
Queries,  Ser.  xi,  vol.  i,  p.  26.  (Worthless.  An  assertion,  unsupported 
by  any  evidence,  that  both  the  hands  of  the  Beowulf  MS  are  those  of 
Hemming  of  Worcester,  who  flourished  c.  1096.) 

1916  SiSAM,  K.  The  Beowulf  Manuscript.  M.L.R.  xi,  335-7.  (Very  important. 
Gives  results  of  a  scrutiny  of  the  other  treatises  in  MS  Vitellius  A.  XV 
(see  above)  and  shows,  among  other  things,  that  the  Beowulf  MS, 
before  reaching  the  hands  of  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  was  (in  1563)  in  those  of 
Lawrence  No  well,  the  Elizabethan  Anglo-Saxon  scholar.) 

1919  FoBSTEB,  Max.    Die  Beowulf- Handschrift,  Leipzig,  Berichte  der  SdcTis. 

Akad.  der  Wissenschaften,  Bd.  71.  (An  excellent  and  detailed  dis- 
cussion of  the  problems  of  the  MS,  quite  independent  of  that  of 
Mr  Sisam,  whose  results  it  confirms.)  Review:  Schroder,  Z.f.d.A.  LVin, 
85-6. 

1920  Rypins,  S.  I.    The  Beowulf  Codex.    Mod.  Phil,  xvii,  541-8  (promising 

further  treatment  of  the  problems  of  the  MS). 
The  MS  of  Finnsburg  has  been  lost.   See  above,  p.  245. 


§  4.   EDITIONS  OF  BEOWULF  AND  FINNSBURG 

1705  HiCKES,  G.  Linguarum  Vett.  Septentrionalium  Thesaurus.  Oxonise. 
(Vol.  I,  192-3,  text  of  Finnsburg  Fragment.) 

1814  CoNYBEABE,   J.   J.     The   Battle   of  Finsborough,   in  Brydges'   British 

Bibliographer,  vol.  iv,  pp.  261-7;  No.  xv  (Text,  Latin  translation,  and 
free  verse  paraphrase  in  English:  some  brief  notes). 

1815  Thobkelin,  G.  J.    De  Danorum  rebus  gestis  secul.  in  et  iv.     Poema 

Danicum  dialecto  Anglo-Saxonica.  (Copenhagen,  with  Lat.  transl.) 
Reviews:  See  §7,  Textual  Criticism,  1815,  Grundtvig;  also  Dansk 
Litteratur-Tidende,  1815,  401-32,  437-46,  461-2  (defending  Thorkelin 
against  Gnmdtvig);  Iduna,  vn,  1817,  133-59;  Monthly  Review,  lxxxi, 
1816,  516-23;  tJenaische  Liter atur-Zeitung,  1816,  Ergdnzungsbldtter, 
353-65  (summary  in  Wiilker's  Grundriss,  p.  252);  Outzen  in  Kider 
Blatter,  1816,  see  §  8,  below. 

1817  Rask,  R.  K.  Angelsaksisk  sproglaere.  Stockholm  (pp.  163-6  contain 
Beowulf,  11.  53-114,  with  commentary). 

1820   Text  of  Finnsburg,  given  by  Gbundtvig  in  Bjowulfs  Drape,  pp.  xl-xlv. 

1826  Text  of  Finnsburg,  and  of  large  portions  of  Beowulf,  given  in  Conybeabe's 
Illustrations.   See  §  5,  Translations. 

1833  Kemble,  J.  M.    Beowulf,  the  Travellers  Song,  and  the  Battle  of  Finnes- 
burh,  edited  with  a  glossary... and  an  historical  preface.   London. 
1835.    Second  edit. 

1847  Schaldemose,  F.  Beo-wulf  og  Scopes  Widsia...med  Oversaettelse. 
Kj0benhavn.  (Follows  Kemble's  text  of  1835:  Text  and  transl.  of 
Finnsburg  also  given,  pp.  161-4.)    1851,  Reprinted. 

1849  Klipstein,  L.   F.     Analecta  Anglo-Saxonica.     New  York.     (Selections 

from  Beowulf,  ii,  227-61 :  Text  of  Finnsburg,  426-7.) 

1850  Ettmulleb,  L.    Engla  and  Seaxna  scopas  and  boceras.    Quedlinburg 

u.    Leipzig.     (Text   of   large   portions   of   Beowulf,   with   Finnsburg, 
pp.  95-131.) 
1855   Thobpe,  B.    The  A.S.  poems  of  Beowulf,  the  scop  or  gleeman's  tale,  and 
Finnesburg,  with  a  literal  translation... Oxford.   |1876,  Reprinted. 

26—2 


388  Bibliography 

1857   Grein,  C.  W.  M.    Bibliothek  der  angelsachsischen  Poesie,  i.    Gottingen 
(pp.  255-343,  Beovulf,  Ueberfall  in  Finnsburg). 
1861-4.    Bd.  ni,  iv.  Sprachschatz. 
1861   RiEGER,  M.    Alt-  u.  angelsachsisches  Lesebuch.    Giessen.   (Der  Kampf  zu 

Finnsburg,  pp.  61-3:  aus  dem  Beovulf,  63-82.) 
1861  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.  Beowulfes  Beorh  eller  Bjovulfs-Drapen.  KLioben- 
havn,  London.  (The  Finnsburg  Fragment  is  inserted  in  the  text  of 
Beowulf,  after  1.  1106.) 
1863  Heyne,  M.  Beovulf,  mit  ausfiihrlichem  Glossar.  Paderbom.  (Anhang: 
Der  Ueberfall  in  Finnsburg.)  Reviews:  Grein,  Lit.  Chi.  1864,  137-8; 
Holtzmann,  Germania,  vm,  506-7. 

1868.    J2  Aufl.   Review:  Rieger,  Z.f.d.Ph.  n,  371-4. 

1873.   3  Aufl.    Review:  Sievers,  Lit.  CM.  1873,  662-3,  brief  but 

severe. 
1879.  4  Aufl.  [in  this,  Kolbing's  collation  of  1876  was  utilized;  see 
p.    82].     Reviews:    Brenner,    Engl.    Stud,    iv,    135-9;    Gering, 
Z.f.d.Ph.  xn,  122-5. 
1867  Grein,  C.  W.  M.    Beovulf,  nebst  den  Fragmenten  Finnsburg  u.  Valdere. 
Cassel  u.  Gottingen. 

1875  Ettmuller,  L.  Carmen  de  Beovulfi,  Gautarum  regis,  rebus  praeclare  gestis 

atque  interitu,  quale  fuerit  antequam  in  manus  interpolatoris,  monachi 
Vestsaxonici,  inciderat.  (Ziirich.  University  Programme.  The  additions 
of  the  "interpolator"  being  omitted,  the  edition  contains  2896  lines 
only.)  Reviews:  Schonbach,  A.f.d.A-  m,  36-46;  JSuchier,  Jenaer 
Literatur-Zeitung,  XLvn,  1876,  732. 

1876  Arnold,  T.    Beowulf,  with  a  translation,  notes  and  appendix.    London. 

Reviews  (unfavourable):  Sweet,  Academy^  x,  1876,  588;  Wiilker,  Lit. 

Chi.  1877,  665-6,  and  Anglia,  i,  177-86. 
1879   WiJLKER,  R.  P.    Kleinere  angelsachsische  Dichtungen.    Halle,  Leipzig. 

(Finnsburg,  pp.  6-7.) 
1883  MoLLER,  H.    Das   altenglische  Volksepos  in   der  urspriinglichen   stror 

phischen  Form.    I.  Abhandlungen.    II.  Texte.    Eael.    (Containing  only 

those  parts  of  the  Finn-story  and  of  Beowulf  which  Moller  regarded 

as  "genuine,"  in  strophic  form.)   Reviews:  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A.  x,  215-33 

(important);  Schonbach,  Z.f.o.G.  xxxv,  37-46. 
1883   WiJLKER,  R.  P.  Das  Beowulf slied,  nebst  den  kleineren  epischen...stiicken. 

Kassel.     (In  the  second  edit,  of  Grein' s  Bibliothek  der  ags.  Poesie.) 

Review:  Kolbing,  Eiigl.  Stud,  vn,  482  etc. 

1883  Harrison,  J.  A.  and  Sharp,  R.    Beowulf.  Boston,  U.S.A.    (J  1883,  on 

the  basis  of  Heyne' s  edition;  with  Finnsburg.)  Reviews:  York  Powell, 
Academy,  xxvi,  1884,  220-1;  reply  by  Harrison,  308-9;  by  York 
Powell,  327;  Kolbmg,  Engl.  Stud,  vn,  482;  Bright,  Literaturblatt,  1884, 
221-3. 

1892.   Third  edit. 

1894.  Fourth  edit.  Reviews:  Wiilker,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  v,  65-7; 
Glode,  Engl.  Stud,  xx,  417-18. 

1884  Holder,  A.    Beowulf,  n.    Berichtigter  Text  u.  Worterbuch.    Freiburg 

u.  Tiibingen.    Reviews:  York  Powell,  Academy,  xxvi,  1884,  220-1; 

Wiilker,  Lit.  Chi.  1885,  1008-9;  Kriiger,  Literaturblatt,  1884,  468-70. 
1899.   2  Aufl.  [with  suggestions  of  Kluge  and  Cosijn].  Reviews: 
Trautmann,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  x,  257;  Wiilfing,  Engl.  Stud,  xxix, 
278-9;  Holthausen,  Literaturblatt,  1900,  60-2  (important  cor- 
rections). 
1888  Heyne,  M.  and  Socin,  A.    [Fifth  edit,  of  Hejme's  text.]   Paderbom  u. 

Miinster.   Reviews:  Koeppel,  Engl.  Stud,  xm,  466-72;  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A. 

XV,  189-94;  Sievers,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxi,  354-65  (very  important  corrections); 

Schroer,  Literaturblatt,  1889,  170-1. 


Editimis  389 

1898.    6  Aufl.     Reviews:  Trautmann,  Anglia,   Beihlatt,  x,   257; 
Holthausen,  Anglia,  BeiblaU,  x,  265 ;  Sarrazin,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxvni, 
408-10;  Jantzen,  Archiv,  era,  175-6. 
1903.   7    Aufl.     Reviews:    Holthausen,    Anglia,    Beihlatt,    xvin, 
193-4;  Klaeber,  the  same,  289-91;  Kruisfnga,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxv, 
401-2;  V.  Grienberger,  Z.f.6.0.  lvi,  744-61  (very  full);  E.  Kock, 
A.f.n.F.  XXII,  215  (brief). 
1894   Wyatt,  a.  J.    Beowulf,  edited  with  textual  footnotes,  index  of  proper 
names,  and  glossary.     (Text  of  Finnsburg.)     Cambridge.     Reviews: 
Bradley,  Academy,  xlvi,   1894,  69-70;  Wiilker,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  v, 
65-7;  Brenner,  Engl.  Stud,  xx,  296;  Zupitza,  Archiv,  xciv,  326-9. 

1898.   Second  edit.   Reviews:  Trautmann,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  x,  257; 
Sarrazin,  Engl.  Stud,  xxvin,  407-8. 

1902  Klfge,    F.    Angelsachsisches  Lesebuch.     3  Aufl.    Halle,     (xxx.  Der 

Uberfall  von  Finnsburuh,  pp.  127-8.) 

1903  Trautmann,  M.     Finn  u,    Hildebrand.     Bonner  Beitrdge,  vn.     (Text, 

translation  and  comment  on  the  Episode  and  Fragment.)  Reviews: 
Binz,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxxvn,  529-36;  Jantzen,  Die  Neueren  Sprachen,  xi, 
543-8;  Neue  philol.  Rundschau,  1903,  619-21  (signed  -tz-  ?  Jantzen). 
Some  additional  notes  by  Trautmann,  "  Nachtragliches  zu  Finn  u. 
Hildebrand"  appeared  in  Bonner  Beitrdge,  xvn,  122. 

1904  Trautmann,  M.  Das  Beowulflied...dasFinn-Bruch8tiicku.  die  Waldhere- 

Bruchstiicke.  Bearbeiteter  Text  u.  deutsche  Ubersetzung.  Bonner 
Beitrdge,  xvi.  Reviews:  Klaeber,  M.L.N,  xx,  83-7  (weighty); 
Eckhardt,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxvn,  401-3;  Schiicking,  Archiv,  cxv,  417-21; 
Bamouw,  Museum,  xiv,  96-8 ;  Neue  philologische  Rundschau  ( ?  by 
Jantzen),  1905,  549-50. 
1905-6  Holthausen,  F.  Beowulf  nebst  dem  Finnsburg-Bruchstiick.  I.  Texte. 
II.  Einleitung,  Glossar  u.  Anmerkungen.  Heidelberg.  Reviews: 
Lawrence,  J.E.G.Ph.  vn,  125-9;  Klaeber,  M.L.N,  xxiv,  94-5; 
Schiicking,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxix,  94-111  (weighty);  Deutschbein,  Archiv, 
cxxi,  162-4;  v.  Grienberger,  Z.f.6.0.  1908,  ux,  333-46  (giving  an 
elaborate  list  of  etymological  parallels);  Bamouw,  Museum,  xiv,  169- 
70;  Wulker,  D.L.Z.  1906,  285-6;  J  Jantzen,  Neue  philologische  Rund- 
schau, 1907,  18. 

1908-9.  2  Aufl.,  nebst  den  kleineren  Denkmalem  der  Heldensage, 
Finnsburg,  Waldere,  Deor,  Widsith,  Hildebrand.  Reviews: 
Eichler,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxi,  129-33;  xxn,  161-5;  Schiicking, 
En^l.  Stud.  XLii,  108-11;  Brandl,  Archiv,  cxxi,  473,  cxxiv, 
210;  Binz,  Literaturhlatt,  xxxii,  1911,  53-5:  see  also  Koeppel, 
Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxni,  297. 
1912-13.   3  Aufl. 

1914-19.  4  Aufl.  Reviews:  Binz,  Literaturhlatt ,  xli,  1920,  316-17; 
Fischer,  Engl.  Stud,  liv,  404-6. 
1908  ScHiJCKiNG,  L.  L.  Beowulf  [8th  edit,  of  Heyne's  text].  Paderbom. 
Reviews:  Lawrence,  M.L.N,  xxv,  155-7;  Klaeber,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxix, 
425-33  (weighty);  Imelmann,  D.L.Z.  1909,  995  (contains  important 
original  contributions);  v.  Grienberger,  Z.f.o.G.  LX,  1089;  Boer, 
Museum,  xvi,  139  (brief). 

1910.   9  Aufl.     Reviews:   Sedgefield,   Engl.   Stud.   XLin,   267-9; 

F.  Wild,  Z.f.o.G.  LXiv,  153-5. 
1913.  10  Aufl.  Reviews:  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxiv,  289-91; 
Engl.  Stvd.  xux,  424;  JDegenhart,  Blatter  /.  gymnasialschvl- 
wesen,  u,  130;  E.  A.  Kock,  A.f.nF.  xxxn,  222-3;  Holthausen, 
Z.f.d.Ph.  XLvra,  127-31  (weighty). 
1918.  11,  12  Aufl.  Reviews:  Bjorkman,  Anglia,  BeibkUt,  xxx, 
121-2,  180;  Fischer,  Engl.  Stud,  mil,  338-9. 


390  Bibliography 

1910  Sedgefield,  W.  J.    Beowulf,  edited  with  Introduction,  Bibliography, 

Notes,  Glossary  and  Appendices.  Manchester.  Reviews:  Thomas, 
M.L.R.  VI,  266-8;  Lawrence,  J.E.G.Ph.  x,  633-40;  Wild,  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xxm,  253-60;  Klaeber,  Engl.  Stud,  xuv,  119-26;  Brandl, 
Archiv,  cxxvi,  279. 

1913.     Second    edit.      Reviews:    M.L.R.    ix,    429;    Lawrence, 
J.E.G.Ph.  XIV,  609-13;  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxv,  166-8. 
1912  Text  of  the  Finn  episode  given  in  Meyer,  W.,  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der 
Eroberung  Englands  durch  die  Angelsachsen. 

1914  Chambers,  R.  W.    Beowulf  with  the  Finnsburg  Fragment,  ed.  by  A.  J. 

Wyatt.  New  edition,  revised.  Cambridge.  Reviews:  Jones,  M.L.R. 
XI,  230-1:  Lawrence,  J.E.G.Ph.  xiv,  609-13;  Bright,  M.L.N,  xxxi, 
188-9;  Schucking,  Engl.  Stud.  LV,  88-100. 

1915  DiCKiNS,  B.    Runic  and  Heroic  Poems  (Text  of  Fumsburg  with  Notes). 

Cambridge.   Review:  Mawer,  M.L.R.  xn,  82-4. 
1917   Mackie,  W.  L.    The  Fight  at  Finnsburg  (Introduction,  Text  and  Notes). 
J.E.G.Ph.  xvi,  250-73. 

1919  Schucking,    L.    L.     Kleines   angelsachsisches   Dichterbuch.     [Includes 

Finnsburg  Fragment,  Finnsburg  Episode  and  "Beowulf's  Return" 
(11.  1888-2199).]  Reviews:  Binz,  Liter aturblatt,  xli,  1920,  pp.  315-16; 
Imelmann,  D.L.Z.  XL,  1919,  423-5;  Fischer,  Engl.  Stud,  uv,  1920, 
302-3. 

1920  Text  of  Finnsburg  Fragment  and  Episode,  with  commentary,  in  Imel- 

mann's  "Forschungen  zur  altenglischen  Poesie." 
An  edition  of  Beowulf  by  Prof.  F.  Klaeber  is  in  the  press. 

§5.   CONCORDANCES,  etc. 

1896  Holder,  A.   Beowulf ,  vol.  n  &,  Wortschatz.   Freiburg.   Review:  Brandl, 

A.f.d.A.  xxm,  107. 

1911  Cook,  A.  S.  Concordance  to  Beowulf .  Halle.  Reviews:  Klaeber,  J.^.G'.PA. 

XI,  277-9;  Garnett,  Amer.  Jnl.  Philol.  xxxm,  86-7. 

§  6.  TRANSLATIONS  (INCLUDING  EARLY  SUMMARIES) 

1881   WtJLKER,  R.  p.     Besprechung  der  BeowuKiibersetzungen,  Anglia,  iv, 

Anzeiger,  69-80. 
1886  GuMMERE,  F.  B.  The  translation  of  Beowulf,  and  the  relations  of  ancient 

and  modem  English  verse,  Amer.  Jour,  of  Phil,  vn,  46-78.   (A  weighty 

argument  for  translation  into  "the  original  metre.") 
1891    Garnett,  J.  M.    The  translation  of  A.S.  poetry.  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc. 

Amer.  vi,  95-105.    (Agreeing  in  the  main  with  Gummere.) 

1897  Frye,  p.  H.    The  translation  of  Beowulf,  M.L.N,  xn,  79-82.    (Advo- 

cating blank  verse.) 

1898  Fulton,  E.    On  translating  A.S.  poetry.  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer, 

xni,  286-96.    (Recommending  an  irregular  four-accent  line.) 
1903  Garnett,  J.  M.    Recent  translations  of  O.E.  poetry,  Pub.  Mod.  Lang. 

Assoc.  Amer.  xvni,  445-58. 
1903  Tinker,  C.  B.    The  translations  of  Beowulf.    A  critical  bibliography. 

Yale  Studies  in  English.    New  York.    Reviews:  Klaeber,  J.E.G.Ph.  V, 

116-8;  Binz,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xvi,  291-2. 

1909  Child,  G.  C.    "Gummere's  Oldest  English  Epic,"  M.L.N,  xxiv,  253-4. 

(A  criticism  advocating  prose  translation.) 

1910  Gummere,  F.  B.  Translation  of  Old  English  Verse,  M.L.N,  xxv,  61-3. 

(Advocating  alliterative  verse.)  Reply  by  Child,  M.L.N,  xxv,  157-8. 
See  also  reviews  of  Gummere,  under  year  1909,  below. 


Translations  391 

1918  Leonard,  W.  E.    Beowulf  and  the  Niebelungen  couplet,  Univ.  of  Wis- 
consin Studies  in  Language  and  Literature,  n,  99-152. 


1805  Turner,  Sharon.  History  of  the  manners... poetry... and  language  of 
the  Anglo-Saxons.  London.  (From  p.  398  to  p.  408  is  a  summary, 
with  translations,  of  Beowulf,  Prol.-vin.  Turner  was  misled  as  to  the 
subject  of  the  poem,  because  a  leaf  had  been  misplaced  in  the  MS,  so 
that  the  account  of  the  fighting  between  Grende  and  Beowulf  (11.  740- 
82)  occurred  immediately  after  1.  91.  The  struggle  between  Beowulf 
and  an  (unnamed)  adversary  being  thus  made  to  follow  the  account 
of  Hrothgar's  court  at  Heorot,  Turner  was  led  to  suppose  that  the  poem 
narrated  the  attempt  of  Beowulf  to  avenge  on  Hrothgar  the  feud  for  a 
homicide  he  had  committed.  "The  transition,"  Turner  not  unreason- 
ably complains,  "is  rather  violent."  The  correct  placing  of  the  shifted 
leaf  is  due  to  Thorkelin.) 

1815  Thorkelin,  G.  J.  [Latin  version  in  his  edition,  q.v.]  The  reviewers  gave 
summaries  of  the  poem,  with  translations  of  portions  of  it:  English  in 
the  Monthly  Review,  lxxxi,  1816,  516-23  (less  inaccurate  than  Turner's 
summary);  Danish  in  the  DansJc  Litteratur-Tidende,  1815,  401-32, 
437-46,  and  by  Grundtvig  in  the  Nyeste  Skilderie  (see  below,  §7); 
Swedish  in  Iduna,  vn,  1817,  133-59. 

1819  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.   Stykker  af  Skjoldung-Kvadet  eUer  Bjovulfs  Minde, 

Dannevirke,  iv,  234r-62. 

1820  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.    Bjowulfs  Drape,   Kje^benhavn.    (Free  rhymed 

translation  of  Beowulf:  Finnsburg  rendered  into  short  lines,  unrhymed: 
Introduction  and  most  important  critical  notes.)  Review:  J.  Grimm 
in  Oott.  Anzeigen,  1S2S  =  Kleinere  Schriften,  iv,  178-86.  For  second 
edit.,  see  1865. 

1820  Turner,  Sharon.  History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons... third  edit.  London. 
(Vol.  in,  pp.  325-48,  contains  a  summary,  with  translations,  of  the 
earlier  part  of  the  poem,  much  less  inaccurate  than  that  of  1805.) 

1826  Conybeare,  J.  J.  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetry.  London.  (Pp. 
35-136  contain  a  summary  of  Beowulf,  with  blank  verse  transl.  and 
the  corresponding  text  in  A.S.  and  Latin;  pp.  175-82,  Finnsburg,  text 
with  transl.  into  Latin  and  into  English  verse.) 

1832  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.  Nordens  mythologi.  Anden  Udgave.  Kiobenhavn. 
(Pp.  571-94  give  a  summary  of  the  Beowulf- stories.  This  was,  of  course, 
wanting  in  the  first  edit,  of  1808.) 

1837  Kemblb,  J.  M.  Translation... with... glossary,  preface  and  notes.  London. 
(The  "postscript  to  the  preface"  in  which  Kemble  supplemented  and 
corrected  the  "Historical  Preface"  to  his  edition  of  1833,  is  the  basis 
of  the  mythological  explanations  of  Beowulf  as  an  Anglian  god,  Beowa.) 

1839  Leo,  H.   [Summary  with  translation  of  extracts.]  See  §  8,  below. 

1840  Ettmuller,  L.     Beowulf,  stabreimend  iibersetzt,  mit  Einleitung  und 

Anmerkungen  (Finnsburg,  pp.  36-8).    Ziirich. 

1845  Longfellow,  H.  W.  The  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe.  Philadelphia. 
(Pp.  8-10  contain  transl.  of  extracts  from  Beowulf.) 

1847  ScHALDEMOSE,  F.  [Danish  transl.  of  Beowulf  and  Finnsburg,  in  his 
edit.,  q.v.] 

1849  Wackerbarth,  A.  D.  Beowulf,  translated  into  English  verse.  London. 
(Imitation  of  Scott's  metre.) 

1855  Thorpe,  B.   [In  his  edit.,  q.v.] 

1857   Uhland,  L.   [Prose  transl.  of  Finnsburg.]   Germania,  n,  354-5. 


392  Bibliography 

1857   Gbein,  C.  W.  M.    Dichtungen  der  Angelsachsen,  stabreimend  iibersetzt. 

Gottingen.   (Vol.  i,  pp.  222-308,  Beowulf,  trans,  into  alliterative  verse.) 

1883.    2  Aufl.    [Incorporating  Grein's  manuscript  corrections,  seen 

through  the  press  by  Wiilker.]   Cassel.    Review:  Kriiger,  Engl. 

Stud,  vm,  139-42. 

1859  SiMROCK,  K.    Beowulf  iibersetzt  u.  erlautert.    Stuttgart  u.  Augsburg. 

(Alliterative  verse:  Finnsburg  Fragment  inserted  after  1.  1124.) 
1859  Sandbas,  G.  S.    De  carminibus  anglo-saxonicis  Caedmoni  adjudicatis. 

Paris.    (Pp.  8-10  contain  extract  from  Beowulf  and  Latin  transl.) 
1861   Haigh,  D.  H.    (Prose  transl.  of  Finnsburg.)    In  Anglo-Saxon  Sagas, 

pp.  32-3,  q.v. 
1863   Heyne,  M.     Beowulf  iibersetzt.     Paderbom.     (Blank  verse.)    Review: 
Holtzmann,  Oermania,  vni,  506-7. 

1897-8.    2  Aufl.    Paderborn.    Reviews:  Holthausen,  Archiv,  cni, 
373-6;  Wiilker,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  ix,  1;  Jantzen,  Engl.  Stud,  xxv, 
271-3;  Lohner,  Z.f.6.0.  xlix,  563. 
1915.   3  Aufl.   Paderbom. 
1865  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.   Bjovulfs-Drapen.   Anden  Udgave. 
1872  VON  WoLZOGEN,  H.   Beovulf  aus  dem  ags.   Leipzig.   (Verse.) 

1876  Arnold,  T.   [In  his  edit.,  q.v.] 

1877  BoTKiNE,  L.    Beowulf  traduite  en  fran9ais.    Havre.    (Prose:  some  omis- 

sions.)   Review:  Korner,  Engl.  Stud,  ii,  248-51. 
1881   Zinsser,  G.    Der  Kampf  Beowulfs  mit  Grendel  [vv.  1-836]  als  Probe 
einer  metrischen  Uebersetzung.  Saarbriicken.  Reviews :  Archiv,  Lxvm, 
446;  Kruger,  Engl.  Stud,  vn,  370-2. 

1881  LuMSDEN,  H.  W.  Beowulf... transl.  into  modem  rhymes.   London.  (Some 

omissions.)  Reviews:  Athenamm,  April  1881,  p.  587;  Garnett,  Amer. 
Jour,  of  Phil.  II,  355-61 ;  Wiillter,  Anglia,  iv,  Anzeiger,  69-80. 

1883.    JSecond  edit.    Review:  York  Powell,  Academy,  xxvi,  1884, 
pp.  220-1. 

1882  Schuhmann,  G.    Beovulf,  antichissimo  poema  epico  de'  popoli  germanici. 

Giornale  Napoletano  di  filosofia  e  lettere.  Anno  iv,  vol.  7,  25-36,  175- 
190.   (A  summary  only.) 

1882  Garnett,  J.  M.  Beowulf  and  the  Fight  at  Finnsburg,  translated.  Boston, 

U.S.A.  Reviews:  Nation  (New  York),  No.  919,  1883;  Harrison,  Amer. 
Jour,  of  Phil.  IV,  84-6,  reply  by  Garnett,  243-6;  Schipper,  Anglia,  vi, 
Anzeiger,  120-4;  Kriiger,  Engl.  Stud,  viii,  133-8,  and  (second  edit.)  ix, 
151;  Bright,  Liter aturhlatt,  1883,  386-7. 

1885.   Second  edit.,  revised. 

1900.   Fourth  edit. 

1883  Grion,   Giusto.     Beovulf,   poema  epico   anglosassone   del  VII  secolo, 

tradotto  e  illustrato.    In  the  Atti  della  reale  Accademia  Lucchese,  xxii. 
(First  Itahan  translation.)   Review:  Kriiger,  Engl.  Stud,  ix,  64-77. 
1889   JWiCKBERG,  R.    Beowulf,  en  fomengelsk  hjaltedikt  oversatt.   Westervik. 
1914.    JSecond  edit.     Upsala.     Review:   Kock,   A.f.n.F.   xxxn, 
223-4. 
1892  Hall,  John  Lesslie.    Beowulf  translated.    (Verse,  with  notes.)   Boston, 
U.S.A.   Reviews:  M.L.N,  vn,  128,  1892  (brief  mention);  Miller,  Viking 
Club  Year  Book,  i,  91-2;  Holthausen,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  iv,  33-6;  Glode, 
Engl.  Stud,  xix,  257-60. 
1893.    ^Student's  edit. 
1892   (1891)   Earle,  John.   The  deeds  of  Beowulf.    Oxford.    (Prose  translation, 
somewhat  spoilt  by  its  artificial  and  sometimes  grotesque  vocabulary; 
very  valuable  introduction,  with  summary  of  the  controversy  to  date. 


Translations  393 

and  notes.)  Reviews:  Aihenseum,  1  Oct.  1892;  Koeppel,  Engl.  Stud. 
xvin,  93-5  (fair,  though  rather  severe). 
1893  Hoffmann,  P.  Beowulf... aus  dem  angelsachsischen  iibertragen.  Ziilli- 
chau.  (In  the  measure  of  the  Nibelungenlied;  incl.  Finnsburg.)  Re- 
views (mostly  unfavourable) ;  Shipley,  M.L.N,  ix,  121-3,  1894;  Wiilker, 
Anglia,  Beiblatt,  v,  67;  Wiilker,  Lit.  Chi.  1894,  p.  1930;  Glode,  Engl. 
Stud.  XIX,  412-5;  JDetter,  Oster.  Literaturblatt,  v,  9;  |Marold,  Deut. 
Literaturblatty  xxin,  332. 

1900.    JSecond  edit.    Hannover. 

1895  Morris,  W.  and  Wyatt,  A.  J.  The  Tale  of  Beowulf.    Kelmscott  Press, 

Hammersmith.    (Verse:  archaic  vocabulary.) 

1898.   New  edit.   Review:  Hulme,  M.L.N,  xv,  22-6,  1900. 

1896  Simons,  L.   Beowulf... vertaald  in  stafrijm  en  met  inleiding  en  aanteeken- 

ingen.  Gent  (Koninklijke  vlaamsche  Academie).  Reviews:  Glode,  Engl. 
Stud.  XXV,  270-1 ;  Uhlenbeck,  Museum  (Groningen),  v,  217-8. 
1898  Steineck,  H.  Altenglische  Dichtungen  (Beowulf,  Elene,  u.a.)  in  wort- 
getreuer  tjbersetzimg.  Leipzig.  (Prose,  line  for  line.)  Reviews:  Binz, 
Anglia,  Beiblatt,  ix,  220-2;  Holthausen,  Archiv,  cm,  376-8  (both  very 
unfavourable). 

1901  Hall,  J.  R.  Clark.    Beowulf  and  the  fight  at  Finnsburg.    A  translation 

into  modem  English  prose.  London.  Reviews:  Athenseum,  1901,  July, 
p.  56;  Academy,  lx,  1901,  342;  Stedman,  Viking  Club  Year  Book,  m, 
72-4;  Tinker,  J.E.G.Ph.  iv,  379-81;  Holthausen,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xm. 
225-8;  Dibelius,  Archiv,  cix,  403-4;  Victor,  Die  neueren  Sprachen,  xi, 
439;  Wiilker,  Lit.  CM.  1902,  30-1  ("sehr  zu  empfehlen"). 
1911  (q.v.).   New  edit.,  with  considerable  additions. 

1902  Tinker,  C.  B.    Beowulf  translated  out  of  the  Old  English.    New  York. 

(Prose.)  Reviews:  Klaeber,  J.E.G.Ph.  v,  91-3;  Holthausen,  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xiv,  7. 

1903  JBjorkman,  E.    Swedish  transl.  (prose)  of  Beowulf,  Part  n  (in  Schiick'g 

Vdrldslitteraturen,  with  introd.  by  Schiick). 
1903-4  Trautmann,  M.,  in  his  editions,  q.v. 

1904  Child,  C.  G.   Beowulf  and  the  Finnesburh  Fragment  translated.   London 

and  Boston.  Reviews:  Grattan,  M.L.R.  m,  303-4  ("a  good  prose 
translation  which  steers  an  even  course  between  pseudo- archaisms  and 
modern  colloquialisms");  MiUer,  Viking  Club  Year  Book,  i,  91-2; 
Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xvi,  225-7;  Brandl,  Archiv,  cxxi,  473. 

1904  {Hansen,   A.     Transl.   into   Danish   of   Beowulf,   11.   491-924,   Danske 

Tidsskrift. 

1905  VoGT,  P.    Beowulf... iibersetzt.    Halle.    (Text  rearranged  according  to 

theories  of  interpolation:  Finnsburg  Fragment  translated,  following 
Moller's  text.)  Reviews:  Binz,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxi,  289-91;  Eichler, 
Z.f.o.G.  Lvn,  908-10;  Klaeber,  Archiv,  cxvn,  408-10:  Jantzen,  Lit.  Chi. 
1906,  257-8. 

1906  Gering,    H.     Beowulf    nebst    dem   Finnsburg-Bruchstiick    iibersetzt. 

Heidelberg.  (Verse.)  Reviews:  Lawrence,  J.E.G.Ph.  vn,  129-33 
("thoroughly  scholarly");  Jantzen,  Lit.  Chi.  1907,  64-5;  Ries,  A.f.d.A. 
xxxra,  143-7;  Binz,  lAteraturblatt,  xxxi,  397-8  ("Fliessend  und 
ungezwimgen,  sinngetreu...");  :{:Zehme,  Monatsschrift,  xiv,  597-600; 
V.  Grienberger,  Z.f.o.G.  1908,  Lix,  423-8. 
1914.    2Aufl. 

1907  HuYSHE,  W.    Beowulf... translated  into... prose  ("Appendix:  The  Fight 

at  Finn's  burgh").  London.  ("Translation,"  to  quote  Clark  Hall, 
"apparently  such  as  might  have  been  compiled  from  previous  transla- 
tions by  a  person  ignorant  of  Ags.  Some  original  mistakes.")  Reviews: 
Athenasum,  1907,  n,  96  ("Mr  Huyshe  displays  sad  ignorance  of  Old 


394  Bibliography 

English... but  an  assiduous  study  of  the  work  of  his  predecessors  has 
preserved  him  from  misrepresenting  seriously  the  general  sense  of 
the  text");  Notes  and  Queries,  Ser.  x,  vol.  vin,  58;  Gamett,  Amer^ 
Jul.  Philol.  XXIX,  344-6;  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xix,  257. 

1909  GuMMEBE,  F.  B.   The  oldest  English  Epic.   Beowulf,  Finnsburg,  Waldere,. 

Deor  and  the  German  Hildebrand,  translated  in  the  original  metres. 
New  York.  Reviews:  Athenseum,  1909,  n,  151;  Trautmann,  Anglia^ 
Beiblatt,  xxxin,  353-60  (metrical  debate);  Sedgefield,  Engl.  Stud,  xli, 
402-3  (discussing  possibility  of  reproducing  in  Mod.  Eng.  the  Old  Eng. 
alliterative  verse-rhythm);  Derocquigny,  Revue  Germanique,  vi,  356-7; 
see  also  above,  p.  390. 

1910  Hansen,  Adolf.    Bjovulf,  oversat  af  A.  Hansen,  og  efter  bans  d£^d  gaet 

efter  og  fuldfje^rt  samt  forsynet  med  en  inledning  og  en  overssettelse  af 
brudstykket  om  kampen  i  Finsborg,  af  Viggo  Julius  von  Holstein 
Rathlou;  udgivet  ved  Oskar  Hansen.  Kjefbenhavn  og  Kristiania.  An 
account  of  this  translation,  by  v.  Holstein  Rathlou,  in  Tilskueren, 
June,  1910,  pp.  557-62;  Review:  Obik,  Danske  Studier,  1910,  112-13. 

1911  Clark  Hall,  J.  R.   Beowulf  and  the  Finnsburg  Fragment.   A  translation 

into  Modem  English  Prose.  London.  Reviews:  Mawer,  M.L.R.  vi, 
542  ("probably  the  best  working  translation  that  we  have,  enriched 
by  a  valuable  introduction  and  excellent  appendices");  Academy, 
1911,  I,  225-6;  Bjorkman,  Engl.  Stud,  xliv,  127-8;  Archiv,  cxxvi, 
492-3;  Binz,  Liter aturblatt,  xxxii,  232. 

1912  PiEEQUiN,  H.    Le  poeme  Anglo-Saxon  de  Beowulf.    (An  extraordinary 

piece  of  work;  the  version  mainly  follows  Kemble's  text,  which  is 
reproduced,  but  with  many  misprints:  Kemble's  Saxons  in  England 
is  translated  by  way  of  introduction.  The  Finnsburg  Fragment  is 
included.)  Reviews:  Academy,  1912,  n,  509-10  (seems  to  regard 
Pierquin  as  author  of  Les  Saxons  en  Angleterre);  Sedgefield,  M.L.R. 
vin,  550-2;  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxiv,  138-9;  Imelmann,  D.L.Z. 
xxxiv  (1913),  1062-3  (very  unfavourable);  JLuick,  Mitt.  d.  inst.  f. 
osterr.  gesch.-forsch.  xxxvi,  401;  JBarat,  Moyen  Age,  xxvi  (sec.  ser. 
xvn),  298-302. 

1913  KiRTLAN,  E.  J.    The  Story  of  Beowulf.    London.    (A  fair  specimen  of  the 

less  scholarly  translations;  nicely  got  up  and  not  exceedingly  incorrect.) 
Reviews:  Athenaeum,  1914,  n,  71;  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxvn, 
129-31. 

1914  Clark  Hall,  J.  R.    Beowulf:  a  metrical  translation.    Cambridge.    (Not 

so  successful  as  the  same  writer's  prose  translation.)  Reviews: 
Sedgefield,  M.L.R.  x,  387-9  (discussing  the  principles  of  metrical 
translation);  Klaeber,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxvi,  170-2. 

1915  Olivero,  F.    Traduzioni  dalla  Poesia  Anglo -sassone.    Bari.    (Pp.  73-119^ 

extracts  from  Beowulf.)    Review:  M.L.R.  xi,  509. 

1916  JBenedetti,  A.    La  canzone  di  Beowulf,  poema  epico  anglo-sassone  del 

VI  secolo.  Versione  italiana,  con  introduzione  e  note.    Palermo. 
1918  Leonard,  W.  E.    [Specimen,  Passus  ix,  of  forthcoming  transl.,  in  the- 
measure  of  the  Nibelungenlied.]    In  Univ.  of  Wisconsin  Studies,  ii, 
149-52:  see  above. 
A  translation  of    Beowulf  into  the   Norwegian   "landsmaal,"    by    H, 
Rytteb,  will  appear  shortly. 

Popular  paraphrases  of  Beowulf  are  not  included  in  the  above  list.  An 
account  will  be  found  in  Tinker's  Translations  of  those  of  E.  H.  Jones  (in  Cox's 
Popular  Romances,  1871):  J.  Gibb,  1881-4;  Wagner-MacDowall,  1883  etc. 
Miss  Z.  A.  Ragozin,  1898,  1900;  A.  J.  Church,  1898;  Miss  C.  L.  Thomson,  1899, 
1904.  Mention  may  also  be  made  of  those  of  {F.  A.  Turner,  1894;  H.  E.  Marshall, 
1908;  T.  Cartwright,  1908;  Prof.  J.  H.  Cox,  1910.    An  illustrated  summary  of 


Translations:  Criticism  and  Interpretation        395 

the  Beovmlf  story  was  issued  by  Mr  W.  T.  Stead  in  his  penny  "Books  for  the 
Bairns."  The  versions  of  Miss  Thomson  and  Prof.  Cox  are  both  good.  The 
paraphrase  in  the  Canadian  Monthly,  ii,  83  (1872),  attributed  in  several 
bibliographies  to  Earle,  is  assuredly  not  the  work  of  that  scholar:  it  is  an 
inaccurate  version  based  upon  Jones.  An  account  will  be  found  in  Tinker  of 
the  German  paraphrase  of  Therese  Dahn,  1883  etc.;  mention  may  also  be  made 
of  those  of  J.  Amheim,  1871;  1  F.  Bassler,  sec.  edit.  1875  (praised  highly  by 
Klaeber  in  J.E.O.Ph.  v,  118). 

§  7.   TEXTUAL  CRITICISM  AND  INTERPRETATION 

1815  Grundtvtg,  N.  F.  S.  Et  Par  Ord  om  det  nys  udkomne  angelsaxiske 
Digt.  Nyeste  Skilderie  af  Kj^benhavn,  No.  60  etc.,  cols.  945,  998,  1009, 
1025,  1045;  Nok  et  Par  Ord  om  Bjovulfs  Drape,  1106,  1121,  1139 
(comment  upon  Thorkelin's  text  and  translation). 

1815  Thobkelin,  G.  J.  Reply  to  Grundtvig  in  Nyeste  Skilderie,  cols.  1057, 
1073.  (There  were  further  articles  in  the  same  magazine,  but  they  were 
purely  personal.) 

1820  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.  Emendations  to  Thorkelin's  text,  added  to 
Bjoumlfs  Drape,  267-312. 

1826  CoNYBEAEE,  J.  J.  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetrv.  London.  (Beo- 
wulf and  "Finnsborough,"  pp.  30-182.) 

1859  BouTERWEK,  K.  W.   Zur  Kritik  des  Beowulfliedes,  Z.f.d.A.  xi,  59-113. 

1859  Dietrich,  F.   Rettungen,  Z.f.d.A.  xi,  409-20. 

1863  HoLTZMANN,  A.    Zu  Beowulf,  Germania,  vin,  489-97.    (Incl.  Finnaburg.) 

1865  Grein,  C.  W.  M.  Zur  Textkritik  der  angelsachsischen  Dichter:  Finnsburg, 
Germania,  x,  422. 

1868-9  BuGGE,  SoPHFS.  Spredte  iagttagelser  vedkommende  de  oldengelske 
digte  om  Beowulf  og  Waldere;  Tidskrift  for  Philologi  og  Psedagogik, 
vm,  40-78  and  287-307  (incl.  Finnsburg,  304-5).  Important. 

1871   RiEGER,  M.   Zum  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.Ph.  in,  381-416. 

1873  BuGGE,  S.   Zum  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.Ph.  iv,  192-224. 

1880  KoLBiNG,  E.  Kleine  Beitrage  (Beowulf,  168, 169),  Engl  Stud,  m,  92  etc. 

1882  Kluge,  F.  Sprachhistorische  Miscellen  (Beowulf,  63,  1027,  1235,  1267), 
P.B.B.  vni,  532-5. 

1882  CosiJN,  P.  J.   Zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  vm,  568-74. 

1883  SiEVERS,  E.   Zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  ix,  135-44,  370. 
1883  Kluge,  F.   Zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  ix,  187-92. 
1883  Kruger,  Th.   Zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  ix,  571-8. 

1889  Miller,  T.   The  position  of  Grendel's  arm  in  Heorot,  Anglia,  xii,  396-400. 

1890  Joseph,  E.   Zwei  Versversetzungen  im  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxn,  385-97. 

1891  ScHROER,  A.   Zur  texterklarung  des  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xin,  333-48. 
1891-2    CosiJN,  P.  J.     Aanteekeningen  op  den  Beowulf.   Leiden.  (Important.) 

Reviews:  Liibke,  A.f.d.A.  xix,  341-2;  Holthausen,  LiteraturblaU.  1895, 
p.  82. 

1892  SiEVERS,  E.    Zur  texterklarung  des  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xiv,  133-46. 

1895  Bright,  J.  W.  Notes  on  the  Beowulf  (11.  30,  306,  386-7,  623,  737),  M.L.N. 
X,  43-4. 

1899  Trautmann,  M.  Berichtigungen,  Vermutungen  und  Erklarungen  zum 
Beowulf  (11.  1-1215).  Bonner  Beitrage  zur  Anglistik,  n,  121-92.  Re- 
views: Binz,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xiv,  358-60;  Holthausen,  LiteraturblaU, 
1900,  62-4  (important).   See  Sievers,  P.B.B.  xxvii,  572;  xxvm,  271. 

1901  Klaeber,  F.  A  few  Beowulf  notes  (11.  459,  847  etc.,  1206,  3024  etc.,  3171); 
M.L.N.  XVI,  14-18. 


396  Bibliography 

1902  Klaebeb,  F.   Zum  Beowulf  (497-8;  1745-7),  Archiv,  cvin,  368-70. 

1902  Klaebeb,  F.   Beowulf's  character,  M.L.N,  xvii,  162. 

1903  Krackow,  O.   Zu  Beowulf,  1225,  2222,  Archiv,  cxi,  171-2. 

1904  Bbyant,  F.  E.   Beowulf,  62,  M.L.N,  xix,  121-2. 

1904  Abbott,  W.  C.  Hrothulf,  M.L.N,  xix,  122-5.  (Abbott  suggests  that 
Hrothulf  is  the  name — missing  in  whole  or  part  from  1.  62 — of  the 
husband  of  the  daughter  of  Healfdene.  This  suggestion  is  quite  un- 
tenable, for  many  reasons:  Hrothulf  (Rolf  Kraki)  is  a  Dane,  and  the 
missing  husband  is  a  Swede:  but  the  article  led  to  a  long  controversy 
between  Bryant  and  Klaeber;  see  M.L.N,  xx,  9-11;  xxi,  143,  255; 
xxn,  96,  160.   Klaeber  is  undoubtedly  right.) 

1904   Krapp,  G.  B.   Miscellaneous  Notes:  Sciirheard;  M.L.N,  xix,  234. 

1904  SiEVEBS,  E.  Zum  BeowuK,  P.B.B.  xxix,  305-31.  (Criticism  of  Traut- 
mann's  emendations.) 

1904  KocK,  E.  A.  Interpretations  and  Emendations  of  Early  English  Texts: 
m  (Beowulf),  Anglia,  xxvu,  218-37. 

1904  SiEVEBS,  E.   Zum  Beowulf  (1.  5,  Criticism  of  Kock),  P.B.B.  xxix,  560-76. 

Reply  by  Kock,  Anglia,  xxvm  (1905),  140-2. 

1905  Tbautmann,  M.   Auch  zum  Beowulf:  ein  gruss  an  herren  Eduard  Sievers, 

Bonner  Beitrdge  zur  Anglistik,  xvn,  143-74.   (Reply  to  Sievers'  criticism 

of  Trautmann's  conjectural  emendations.)    Review:  Klaeber,  M.L.N, 

XXII,  252. 
1905  Swiggett,  G.  L.   Notes  on  the  Finnsburg  fragment,  M.L.N,  xx,  169-71. 
1905  Klaeber,  F.    Notizen  zur  texterklanmg  des  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xxvrn, 

439-47  (incl.  Finnsburg) ;  Zum  Beowulf,  the  same,  448-56. 
1905  Klaeber,  F.    Bemerkungen  zum  Beowulf,  Archiv,  cxv,  178-82.    (Incl. 

Finnsburg.) 

1905  Holthausen,   F.     Beitrage  zur  Erklarimg  des  altengl,   epos,   i,   Zum 

Beowulf;  n,  Zum  Finnsburg-fragment;  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxxvn,  113-25. 
1905-6  Klaeber,  F.    Studies  in  the  Textual  Interpretation  of  "Beowulf," 
Mod.  Phil.  HI,  235-66,  445-65  (Most  important). 

1906  Child,  C.  G.    Beowulf,  30,  53,  132  (i.e.  1323),  2957,  M.L.N,  xxi,  175-7, 

198-200. 
1906   Horn,  W.  Textkritische  Bemerkungen  (Beowulf,  69  etc.),  Anglia,  xxix, 
130-1. 

1906  Klaeber,  F.   Notizen  zum  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xxix,  378-82. 

1907  Klaeber,  F.   Minor  Notes  on  the  Beowulf,  J.E.Q.Ph.  vi,  190-6. 

1908  Tinker,  C.  B.   Notes  on  Beowulf,  M.L.N,  xxm,  239-40. 

1908  Klaebeb,  F.   Zum  Beowulf,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  463-7. 

1909  Klaebeb,  F.   Textual  Notes  on  Beowulf,  J.E.G.Ph.  vm,  254-9. 

1910  VON  Gbienbebqeb,  T.    Bemerkungen  zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  xxxvi,  77- 

101.    (Incl.  Finnsburg.) 
1910  Sievebs,  E.    Gegenbemerkungen  zum  Beowulf,  P.B.B.  xxxvi,  397-434. 

(Incl.  Finnsburg.) 
1910  Sedgefield,  W.  J.   Notes  on  "Beowulf,"  M.L.R.  v,  286-8. 

1910  Tbautmann,  M.    Beitrage  zu  einem  kiinftigen  "Sprachschatz  der  alt- 

englischen  Dichter,"  Anglia,  xxxin,  276-9  (gedrseg). 

1911  Blackbubn,  F.  a.   Note  on  Beowulf,  1591-1617,  Mod.  Phil,  ix,  555-66. 

(Argues  that  a  loose  leaf  has  been  misplaced  and  the  order  of  events 
thus  disturbed.) 

1911  Klaebeb,  F.    Zur  Texterklanmg  des  Beowulf,  vv.  767,  1129,  Anglia, 

Beiblatt,  xxii,  372-4. 

1912  Habt,  J.  M.    Beowulf,  168-9,  M.L.N,  xxvn,  198. 


Criticism  and  Interpretation  397 

1912-14  Gbein,  C.  W.  M.  Sprachschatz  der  angelsachsischen  dichter.  Unter 
mitwirkung  von  F.  Holthausen  neu  herausgegeben  von  J.  J.  Kohler. 
Heidelberg.  Reviews:  Trautmann,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxiv,  36-43; 
Schiicking,  Engl.  Stud,  xlix,  113-5. 

1915  Chambers,  R.  W.    The  "Shifted  leaf"  in  Beowulf,  M.L.R.  x,  37-41. 

(Points  out  that  the  alleged  "confused  order  of  events"  is  that  also 
followed  in  the  Grettis  saga.) 

1916  Green,  A.    The  opening  of  the  episode  of  Finn  in  Beowulf,  Ptib.  Mod. 

Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxxi,  759-97. 

1916  Bright,  J.  W.    Anglo-Saxon  umbor  and  seld-guma,  M.L.N,  xxxi,  82-4; 

Beowulf,  489-90,  M.L.N,  xxxi,  217-23. 

1917  Green,  A.   An  episode  in  Ongenjjeow's  fall,  M.L.R.  xn,  340-3. 

1917  Hollander,  L.  M.  Beowulf,  33,  M.L.N,  xxxn,  246-7.  (Suggests  the 
reading  itig.) 

1917  Holthausen,  F.    Zu  altenglischen  Denkmalem — Beowulf,  1140,  Engl. 

Stud.  LI,  180. 

1918  Hubbard,  F.  G.   Beowulf,  1598,  1996,  2026:  uses  of  the  impersonal  verb 

geweorpan,  J. E.G. Ph.  xvii,  119. 
1918  KocK,  E.  A.    Interpretations  and  emendations  of  early  English  Texts: 
IV,  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xui,  99-124,    (Important.) 

1918  JKocK,  E.  A.   Jubilee  Jaunts  and  Jottings,  in  the  Lunds  univ.  drsskriftf 

N.  F.  avd.  1,  bd.  14,  nr.  26  {FeMskriJt  vid... 250 -arsjubileum).   Reviews: 
Holthausen,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxx,  1-5;  Klaeber,  J.E.O.Ph.  xix,  409-13. 

1919  Moore,  Samuel.   Beowulf  Notes  (Textual),  J.E.G.Ph.  xvm,  205-16. 
1919  Klaeber,  F.    Concerning  the  functions  of  O.E.  geweorffan,  J.E.Q.Ph. 

xvin,  250-71.    (C;!f.  paper  of  Prof.  Hubbard  above,  by  which  this  was 

suggested.) 
1919  Klaeber,  F.   Textual  notes  on  "Beowulf,"  M.L.N,  xxxiv,  129-34. 
1919  Brown,  Carleton.   Beowulf,  1080-1106,  M.L.N,  xxxiv,  181-3. 

1919  Brett,  Cyril.    Notes  on  passages  of  Old  and  Middle  English,  M.L.R. 

XIV,  1-9. 
1919-20  KocK,  E.  A.  Interpretations  and  emendations  of  Early  English 
Texts:  v  (Incl.  Beowulf,  2030,  2419-24);  vi  (Incl.  Beowulf  24,  154-6, 
189-90,  1992-3,  489-90,  581-3,  1745-7,  1820-1,  1931-2,  2164);  vn 
(Incl.  Beowulf,  1230,  1404,  1553-6);  Anglia,  xim,  303-4;  xliv,  98  etc., 
245  etc. 

1920  Bryan    W.  F.    Beowulf  Notes  (303-6,  532-4,  867-71),  J.E.O.Ph.  xix, 

84-5. 

§  8.   QUESTIONS  OF  LITERARY  HISTORY,  DATE  AND  AUTHORSHIP: 
BEOWULF  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  HISTORY,  ARCHAEOLOGY,  HEROIC 
LEGEND,  MYTHOLOGY  AND  FOLKLORE 
See  also  preceding  section. 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  deal  with  Old  English  heroic  legend  in  general: 
nor  to  enumerate  the  references  to  Beowulf  in  histories  of  literature.  Probably  the 
earliest  allusion  to  our  poem  by  a  great  writer  is  in  Scott's  Essay  on  Romance 
(1824): 

"The  Saxons  had,  no  doubt,  Romances,... and  Mr  Turner.. .has  given 
us  the  abridgement  of  one  entitled  Caedmon,  in  which  the  hero,  whose 
adventures  are  told  much  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Norse  Sagas, 
encounters,  defeats  and  finally  slays  an  evil  being  called  Grendel...." 

1816  OuTZEN,  N.  Das  ags.  Gedicht  Beowulf,  Kiel&r  Blatter,  in,  307-27.  (See 
above,  p.  4,  note.) 


398  Bibliography 

1816  (Review  of  Thorkelin  in)   Monthly  Review,  lxxxi,   516-23.     (Beowulf 

identified  with  Beaw  Sceldwaing  of  the  West  Saxon  genealogy;  see 
above,  p.  292.) 

1817  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.    Danne-Virke,  ii,  207-89.    (Identifies  Chochilaicus; 

see  above,  p.  4,  note.) 

1826  Grimm,  W.  Einleitung  iiber  die  Elfen,  Kleinere  Schriften,  i,  405,  esp. 
p.  467  (extract  relating  to  Grendel's  hatred  of  song).  From  Xlrische 
Elfenmarchen. 

1829  Grimm,  W.  Die  deutsche  Heldensage.  Gottingen.  (Pp.  13-17.  Extracts 
from  Beowulf,  with  translation,  relating  to  Weland,  Sigemund,  Hama 
and  Eormenric.) 

1836  Kemble,  J.  M.  tJber  die  Stammtafel  der  Westsachsen.  Miinchen.  Re- 
view: J.  Grimm,  Gottingische  gelehrte  Anziegen,  1836,  649-57,  =  Kleinere 
Schriften,  v,  240. 

1836  MoNE,  F.  J.  Zur  Kritik  des  Gedichts  von  Beowulf  (in  Untersuchungen 
zur  Geschichte  der  teutschen  Heldensage).  QuedJinburg  u.  Leipzig. 
(Pp.  129-36.) 

1839  Leo,  H.  Beowulf... nach  seinem  inhalte,  und  nach  seinen  historischen 
imd  mythologischen  beziehungen  betrachtet.   Halle. 

1841  Disraeli,  I.  Amenities  of  Literature.  London.  (Beowulf;  the  Hero- 
Life.   Vol.  I,  pp.  80-92.) 

1841  Grundtvig,  N.  F.  S.  Bjovulfs  Drape,  Brage  og  Idun,  iv,  481-538.  (Dis- 
cusses the  story,  with  criticism  of  previous  scholars,  and  especially  of 
Kemble.) 

1843-9  Grimm,  W.  Einleitung  zur  Vorlesung  iiber  Gudrun  [with  an  abstract 
of  Beowulf];  see  Kleinere  Schriften,  TV,  557-60. 

1844  MiJLLENHOFF,  K.    Die  deutschen  Volker  an  Nord-  und  Ostsee  in  altester 

Zeit,  Nordalhingische  Studien,  i,  111  etc. 

1845  A  brief  discussion  of  Beowulf  in  Edinburgh  Review,  Lxxxn,  309-11. 
1845  Hatipt,  M.    Zum  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.A.  v,  10.    (Drawing  attention  to  the 

reference  to  Hygelac  in  the  liber  de  monstris;  see  above,  p.  4.) 

1848  MtJLLENHOFF,  K.    Die  austrasische  Dietrichssage,  Z.f.d.A.  vi,  435  etc, 

1849  MiJLLENHOFF,  K.   Sceaf  u.  seine  Nachkommen,  Z.f.d.A.  vn,  410-19;  Der 

Mythus  von  Beovulf,  Z.f.d.A.  vn,  419-41. 
1849  Grimm,  J.    Ueber  das  Verbrennen  der  Leichen,  Abhandl.  d.  Berl.  Akad., 

1849,  191  etc.=Kleinere  Schriften,  n,  211-313  (esp.  261-4). 
1849  Bachlechner,  J.   Die  Merovinge  im  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.A.  vn,  524r-6. 

1851  Zappert,  G.   Virgil's  Fortleben  im  Mittelalter,  Denkschriften  der  k.  Akad, 

Wien,  Phil.-Hist.  Glasse,  Bd.  n,  Abth.  2,  pp.  17-70.    (Gives  numerous 
parallels  between  Virgil  and  "Beowulf,"  somewhat  indiscriminately.) 

1852  Brynjulfsson,  G.     Oldengelsk  og  Oldnordisk,  Antikuarisk  Tidsskrift, 

Kjobenhavn,  1852-4,  pp.  81-143.  (An  important  paper  which  has  been 
unduly  overlooked.  Brynjulfsson  notes  the  parallel  between  Beowulf 
and  Bjarki  (see  above,  p.  61)  and  in  other  respects  anticipates  later 
scholars,  e.g.,  in  noting  the  close  relationship  between  Angles  and 
Danes  (p.  143)  and  less  fortunately  (pp.  129-31)  in  identifying  the 
Geatas  mth  the  Jutes.) 
1856  Bachlechner,  J.  Eomaer  und  Heming  (Hamlac),  Oermania,  i,  297-303 
and  455-61. 

1856  Bouterwek,  K.   W.     Das  Beowulflied:  Eine  Vorlesung;  Germania,  i, 

385-418. 

1857  Uhland,  L.    Sigemund  und  Sigeferd,  Germania,  ii,  344-63  =>ScAri/<ew, 

vm,  479  etc.   (Incl.  Finnsburg.) 


History,  Legend,  Composition,  Origin,  etc.  399 

1858  Weinhold,  K.   Die  Riesen  des  germanischen  My  thus,  Sitzungberichte  der 

K.  Akad.y  Wien,  Phil.-Hist  Classe,  xxvi,  225-306.  (Grendel  and  his 
mother,  p.  255.) 

1859  RiEGEB,  M.   Ingaevonen,  Istaevonen,  Herminonen,  Z.f.d.A.  xi,  177-205. 

1859  MiJLLENHOFF,  K.   Zur  Kritik  des  angelsachsischen  Volksepos,  2,  Widsith, 

Z.f.d.A.  XI,  275-94. 

1860  MtJLLENHOFF,   K.     Zeugnisse   u.    Excurse   zur   deutschen   Heldensage, 

Z.f.d.A.  xn,  253-386.   {This  portion  of  vol.  xn  was  published  in  I860.) 

1861  Haigh,  D.  H.   The  Anglo-Saxon  Sagas.  London.    (An  uncritical  attempt 

to  identify  the  proper  names  in  Beowulf  and  Finnsburg  with  sites  in 
England.) 

1862  Grein,  C.  W.  M.   Die  historischen  Verhaltnisse  des  Beowulfliedes,  Eherts 

JahrhuchfUr  roman.  u.  engl.  Litt.  iv,  260-85.   (Incl.  Finnsburg.) 
1864  JScHULTZE,  M.    Ueber  das  Beowulfslied.    Programm  der  stddtischen  Beal- 

schule  zu  Elbing.    (Not  seen,  but  contents,  including  the  mythical 

interpretations  current  at  the  period,  noted  in  Archiv,  xxxvn,  232.) 
1864  Heyne,  M.    Ueber  die  Lage  und  Construction  der  Halle  Heorot.   Pader- 

bom. 

1868  KoHLEB,   A.     Germanische  Alterthiimer  im  Beovulf,   Oermania,  xin, 

129-58. 

1869  MtJLLENHOFF,  K.    Die  innere  Geschichte  des  Beovulfs,  Z.f.d.A.  xiv,  193- 

244.   (Reprinted  in  Beomilf,  1889.    See  above,  p.  113  etc.) 

1870  KoHLEB,  A.   Die  Einleitung  des  Beovulfliedes.    Die  beiden  Episoden  von 

Heremod,  Z.f.d.Ph.  n,  305-21. 

1875  SCHB0DEB,  L.    Om  Bjovulfs  Drapen.   Kobenhavn.   (See  above,  p.  30.) 

1876  BoTKiNE,  L.     Beowulf.     Analyse  historique  et  geographique.     Havre. 

(Material  subsequently  incorporated  in  translation,  q.v.  §  6.)  Review: 
Komer,  Engl.  Stud,  i,  495-6. 

1877  Skeat,  W.  W.  The  name  "Beowulf,"  Academy,  xi  (Jan. -June),  p.  163. 

(Suggests  Beowulf  =  " woodpecker";  see  above,  pp.  365-6,  note.) 

1877  TEN  Beink,  B.  Geschichte  der  englischen  Litteratur.  (Beowulf,  Finns- 
burg, pp.  29-40.) 

1877  Dedebich,  H.  Historische  u.  geographische  Studien  zum  ags.  Beovulfliede. 
Koln.  (Incl.  Finnsburg.)  Reviews:  Komer,  Engl.  Stud,  i,  481-95; 
Miillenhoff,  A.f.d.A.  m,  172-82;  JSuchier,  Jenaer  Literatur-Zeitung, 
XLvn,  732,  1876. 

1877  HoBNBUBG,  J.  Die  Composition  des  Beowulf.  Programm  des  K.  Lyceums 
in  Metz.  Full  summary  by  F.  Hummel  in  Archiv,  Lxn,  231-3.  See 
also  under  1884. 

1877  ScHULTZE,  M.  Alt-heidnisches  in  der  angelsachsischen  Poesie,  speciell  im 
Beowulfsliede.  Berlin. 

1877  SucmEB,  H.   Ueber  die  Sage  von  Offa  u.  prytJo,  P.B.B.  iv,  500-21. 

1878  MiJLLEB,  N.    Die  Mythen  im  Beowulf,  in  ihrem  Verhaltniss  zur  ger- 

manischen Mythologie  betrachtet.    Dissertation,  Heidelberg.   Leipzig. 

1879  Laistneb,  L.   Nebelsagen.    Stuttgart.    (See  above,  p.  46,  note.) 

1879  Sweet,  H.    Old  English  etymologies:  i,  Bedhata,  Engl.  Stvd.  n,  312-14. 

(See  above,  p.  365.) 

1880  Gebing,  H.     Der  Beowulf  u.   die  islandische  Grettissaga,  Anglia,  in, 

74-87.  (Important.  Gering  announced  Vigfiisson's  discovery  to  a 
wider  circle  of  readers,  Avith  translation  of  the  Sandhaugar  episode, 
and  useful  comment.  The  discovery  was  further  annoimced  to  American 
readers  by  Gabnett  in  the  American  Journal  of  Philology,  i,  492  (1880), 
though  its  importance  was  there  rather  imderstated.   See  above,  p.  64.) 


400  Bibliography 

1881  Smith,  C.  Sprague.    Beowulf  Gretti,  New  Englander,  xl   (N.  S.  iv), 

49-67.  (Translation  of  corresponding  passages  in  Grettis  saga  and 
Beowulf.) 

1882  March,  F.  A.  The  World  of  Beowulf,  Proceedings  of  Amer.  Phil.  Assoc, 

pp.  xxi-xxiii. 

1883  RoNNiNG,  F.   Beovulfs-kvadet;  en  literser-historisk  unders0gelse.  Koben- 

havn.  Review:  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A.  x,  233-9.  (Ronning  criticises. 
Miillenhoff 's  theories  of  separate  lays.  His  book  and  Heinzel's  review 
are  both  important.) 

1883  Merbot,  R.    Aesthetische  Studien  zur  Ags.  Poesie.    Breslau.    Reviews; 

Koch,  Anglia,  vi,  Anzeiger,  100-3;  Kluge,  Engl.  Stud,  vm,  480-2. 

1884  Earle,  J.    Anglo-Saxon  Literature  (The  dawn  of  European  Literature). 

London.  (Pp.  120-39  deal  with  Beowulf.  Earle  holds  Beowulf  to  be 
"a  genuine  growth  of  that  junction  in  time... when  the  heathen  tale» 
still  kept  their  traditional  interest,  and  yet  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
had  taken  full  possession  of  the  Saxon  mind.") 

1884  Fahlbeck,  P.  Beowulfs-kvadet  s&som  kalla  for  nordisk  fomhistoria, 
Antikvar.  tidslr.  for  Sverige,  vin,  1-87.  Review:  Academy,  xxix,  1886, 
p.  12.   (See  above,  pp.  8,  333.) 

1884  Harrison,  J.  A.  Old  Teutonic  life  in  Beowulf,  Overland  Monthly,  Sec. 
Ser.  vol.  IV,  14-24;  152-61. 

1884  Hertz,  W.  Beowidf,  das  alteste  germanische  Epos,  Nord  und  Siid,  xxix^ 
229-53. 

1884  HoRNBTJRG,  J.  Die  komposition  des  Beovulf,  Archiv,  Lxxn,  333-404. 
(Rejects  Miillenhoff 's  "Liedertheorie.") 

1884  Kruger,  Th.  Zum  Beowulfliede.  Bromberg.  Reviewed  favourably  by 
Kolbing,  Engl.  Stud,  ix,  150;  severely  by  Kluge,  Literaturblatf,  1884, 
428-9.  (A  useful  summary,  which  had  the  misfortune  to  be  superseded 
next  year  by  the  pubHcation  of  Wiilker's  Grundriss.) 

1884  Kruger,  Th.  tJber  Ursprung  u.  Entwickelung  des  Beowulfliedes,  Archiv, 

Lxxi,  129-52. 
1884-5  Earle,  J.  Beowulf,  in  The  Times,  London  (Aug.  25,  1884,  p.  6  (not 
signed);  Oct.  29,  1885,  p.  3;  Sept.  30,  1885,  p.  3.  "The  Beowulf  itself 
is  a  tale  of  old  folk-lore  which,  in  spite  of  repeated  editing,  has  never 
quite  lost  the  old  crust  of  its  outline.... This  discovery,  if  estabUshed, 
must  have  the  effect  of  quite  excluding  the  application  of  the  Wolffian 
hypothesis  to  our  poem.") 

1885  WtJLKER,  R.    Grundriss  zur  geschichte  der  angelsachsischen  Litteratur. 

Leipzig.    6.  Die  angelsachsische  Heldendichtung,  BeowuK,  Finnsburg, 
244-315.    (An  important  and  useful  summary.) 

1885  Lehmann,  H.     Briinne   und   Helm  im  angelsachsischen  Beowulfliede. 

Dissertation,   Gottingen.    Leipzig.    Reviews:    Wiilker,   Anglia,   viii, 
Anzeiger,  167-70;  Schulz,  Engl.  Stud,  ix,  471. 

1886  Skeat,  W.  W.    On  the  signification  of  the  monster  Grendel...with  a  dis- 

cussion of  11.   2076-2100.     Read  before  the  Cambridge  Philological 

Society.    Journal  of  Philology,  xv,  120-31.    (Not  American  Jour,  of 

Phil.,  as  frequently  quoted.) 
1886   Sarrazin,  G.    Die  Beowulfsage  in  Danemark,  Anglia,  ix,  195-9;  Beowa 

und  Bothvar,  Anglia,  ix,  200-4;  Beowulf  und  Kynewulf,  Anglia,  ix^ 

515-50;  Der  Schauplatz  des  ersten  Beowulfliedes  und  die  Heimat  des 

Dichters,  P.B.B.  xi,  159-83  (see  above,  p.  101). 
1886  Sievers,  E.    Die  Heimat  des  Beowulf  dichters,  P.B.B.  xi,  354-62. 
1886  Sarrazin,  G.    Altnordisches  im  Beowulfliede,  P.B.B.  xi,  528-41.    (See 

above,  p.  102.) 
1886  SiBVERS,  E.   Altnordisches  im  Beowulf?  P.B.B.  xn,  168-20a 


History,  Legend,  Compositioriy  Origin,  etc.  401 

1886  Schilling,  H.   Notes  on  the  Finnsaga,  M.L.N,  i,  89-92;  116-17. 

1886  Lehmann,  H.    tJber  die  WafEen  im  angelsachsischen  Beowulfliede,  Ger- 

mania,  xxxi,  486-97. 

1887  Schilling,  H.    The  Finnsburg-fragment  and  the  Finn-episode,  M.L.N. 

n,  146-50. 
1887   MoRLEY,  H.    Beowulf  and  the  Fight  at  Finnsburg,  in  English  Writers, 

vol.  I,  276-354.   London. 
1887   BuGGE,  S.    Studien  iiber  das  Beowulfepos,  P.B.B.  xn,  1-112,  360-75. 

Important.    (Das  Finnsburgfragment,  pp.  20-8.) 

1887  JScHNEiDER,  F.  Der  Kampf  mit  Grendels  Mutter.  Program  des  Friedricha 

Eeal-Oymnasiums.   Berlin. 

1888  TEN  Bbink,  B.     Beowulf.    Untersuchungen.    {Quellen  u.    Forschungeriy 

Lxn.)  (Important.  See  above,  p.  113.)  Strassburg.  Reviews :  Wulker, 
Anglia,  xi,  319-21  and  Lit.  Chi.  1889,  251;  Moller,  Engl.  Stud,  xm, 
247-315  (weighty,  containing  some  good  remarks  on  the  Jutes-Geatas) ; 
Koeppel,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxm,  113-22;  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A.  xv,  153-82 
(weighty);  Liebermann,  Deut.  Zeitschr.  f.  GeschichtswissenscJiaft,  n, 
1889,  197-9;  Kraus,  D.L.Z.  xn,  1891,  1605-7,  1846:  reply  by  ten 
Brink  (" Beowulf kritik  und  ABAB''),  D.L.Z.  1892,  109-12. 
1888  Sarbazin,  G.  Beowulf -Studien.  Berlin.  Reviews:  Koeppel,  Engl.  Stud. 
xni,  472-80;  Sarrazin,  Entgegnung,  Engl.  Stud,  xiv,  421  etc.,  reply  by 
Koeppel,  xiv,  427;  Sievers,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxi,  366;  Dieter,  Archiv,  Lxxxm, 
352-3;  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A.  xv,  182-9;  Wiilker,  Lit.  Chi.  1889,  315-16; 
Wulker,  Anglia,  xi,  536-41.  Holthausen,  Liter aturhlatt,  1890,  14-16; 
Liebermann,  Deut.  Zeitschr.  f.  Geschichtswissenschaft,  vi,  1891,  138; 
Kraus,  D.L.Z.  xii,  1891,  pp.  1822-3.  (All  these  reviews  express  dissent 
from  Sarrazin' s  main  conclusions,  though  many  of  them  show  appre- 
ciation of  details  in  his  work.    See  above,  p.  101.) 

1888  KiTTBEDGE,  G.  L.    Zu  Beowulf,  107  etc.,  P.B.B.  xm,  210  (Cam's  kin). 

1889  MtJLLENHOFF,  K.    Bcovulf  (pp.  110-65  =Z./.c?.yl.  XIV,  19^-244).    Berlin. 

See  above,  pp.  46-7,  113-15.  Reviews:  Schirmer,  Anglia,  xn,  465-7; 
Sarrazin,  Engl.  Stud,  xvi,  71-85  (important);  Wulker,  Lit.  Chi.  1890,, 
58-9;  Heinzel,  A.f.d.A.  xvi,  264^75  (important);  Koeppel,  Z.f.d.Ph, 
xxm,  110-13;  Holthausen,  Liter  aturhlatt,  1890,  370-3;  Liebermann,, 
Deut.  Zeitschr.  f.  Geschichtswissenschaft,  vi,  1891,  135-7;  Kraus,  D.L.Z. 
xn,  1891,  pp.  1820-2;  Logeman,  Le  Moyen  Age,  m,  266-7  ("personne 
ne  conteste  plus... que  le  po^me  se  composait  originairement  de  plusieurs 
parties").  Miillenhoff's  book,  like  that  of  ten  Brink,  is  based  on 
assumptions  generally  held  at  the  time,  but  now  not  so  widely  accepted  j 
yet  it  remains  important. 
1889   Laistner,  L.    Das  Ratsel  der  Sphinx.    Berlin.    (See  above,  p.  67.) 

1889  LtJNiNG,  0.   Die  Natur...in  der  altgermanischen  und  mittelhochdeutschen 

Epik.  Zurich.  Reviews:  Weinhold,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxii,  246-7;  Golther, 
D.L.Z.  1889,  710-2;  BaUerstedt,  A.f.d.A.  xvi,  71-4;  Frankel,  Literatur- 
hlatt,  1890,  439-44. 

1890  JDeskau,  H.    Zum  studium  des  Beowulf.   Berichte  des  freien  deutschen 

Hochstiftes,  1890.   Frankfurt. 

1890  JKlopper,  C.    Heorot-Hall  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  poem  of  Beowulf.   Fest- 

schrift fiir  K.  E.  Krause.   Rostock. 

1891  Jbllinek,  M.  H.  and  Kraus,  C.   Die  Widerspriiche  im  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.A. 

xxxv,  265-81. 

1891   BuGGE,  S.  and  Olrik,  A.    Roveren  ved  Gr^sten  og  Beowulf,  Dania,  i, 
233-45. 

1891  Jelunek,  M.  H.   Zum  Finnsburgfragment,  P.B.B.  xv,  428-31. 

1892  Earle,  J.  The  Introduction  to  his  Translation  (q.v.)  gave  a  summary  of 

the  controversy,  with  "a  constructive  essay." 

C.  B.  26 


402  Bibliography 

1892   Brooke,  Stopford  A.    History  of  Early  English  Literature  (Beowulf, 

pp.  17-131).    London.    Reviews:  McClumpha,  M.L.N,  vni,  27-9,  1892 

(attacks  in  a  letter  of  unnecessary  violence) ;  Wiilker,  Anglia,  Beihlatt, 

IV,  170-6,  225-33;  Glode,  Engl.  Stud,  xxii,  264-70. 
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415. 
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1892  KoGEL,  R.   Beowulf,  Z.f.d.A.  xxxvii,  268-76.   (Etymology  of  the  name.) 

Discussed  by  Sievers,  P.B.B.  xviii,  413.   See  above,  p.  367,  footnote. 

1893  Ward,  H,  L.  D.   Catalogue  of  Romances  in  the  British  Museum;  Beowulf: 

vol.  II,  pp.  1-15,  741-3. 

1893  TEN  Brink,  B.    Altenglische  Literatur,  Pauls  Ordr.{\),  ii,  i,  510-50. 

(Finnsburg,  545-50.) 

1894  McNary,  S.  J.    Beowulf  and  Arthur  as  English  Ideals,  Poet-Lore,  vi, 

529-36. 

1894  JDetter,  F.    tJber  die  HeatJobarden  im  Beowulf,   Verhandl.  d.  Wiener 

Philologenversammlung,  Mai,  1893.  Leipzig,  p.  404  etc.  (Argues  that 
the  story  is  not  historical,  but  mythical — Ragnarok.) 

1895  Sievers,  E.  Beowulf  und  Saxo,  Berichte  der  kgl.  sacks.  Gesellschaft  def 

Wissenschaften,  XLvn,  175-93.    (Important,  see  above,  pp.  90-7.) 
1895   BiNZ,  G.    Zeugnisse  zur  germaruschen  sage  in  England,  P.B.B.  xx,  141- 
223.    (A  most  useful  collection,  though  the  significance  of  many  of  the 
names  collected  is  open  to  dispute.) 

1895  Kluge,  F.   Zeugnisse  zur  germanischen  sage  in  England,  Engl.  Stud,  xxi, 

446-8. 
1895-6  Kluge,  F.    Der  Beowulf  u.  die  Hrolfs  Saga  Kraka,  En^l.  Stud,  xxii, 
144-5. 

1896  Sarrazin,  G.   Neue  Beowulf-studien,  Engl.  Stud,  xxin,  221-67. 

1897  Ker,   W.   p.     Epic  and  Romance.     London.     (Beowulf,   pp.    182-202. 

Important.  See  above,  p.  116.)  Reviews:  Fischer,  Anglia,  Beiblalt,  x, 
133-5;  Brandl,  Archiv,  c,  198-200.   New  edit.  1908. 

1897  Blackburn,  F.  A.  The  Christian  coloring  in  the  Beowulf,  Pub.  Mod, 
Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xii,  205-25.    (See  above,  p.  125.) 

1897  Sarrazin,  G.  Die  Hirschhalle,  Anglia,  xix,  368-92;  Der  Balder-kultus 
in  Lethra,  ibid.  392-7;  Rolf  Krake  mid  sein  Vetter  im  Beowulfliede, 
En^gl.  Stud,  xxiv,  144-5.   (Important.   See  above,  p.  31.) 

1897  Henning,  R.    Sceaf  und  die  westsachsische  Stammtafel,  Z.f.d.A.  XLi, 

156-69. 

1898  Arnold,  T.    Notes  on  Beowulf.    London.    Reviews:  Hulme,  M.L.N,  xv, 

22-6,  1900;  Sarrazin,  Engl.  Stud,  xxvin,  410-18;  Gamett,  Amer.  Jour, 
of  Phil.  XX,  443. 

1898  NiEDNER,  F.    Die  Dioskuren  im  Beowulf,  Z.f.d.A.  xlii,  229-58. 

1899  Cook,  A.  S.   An  Irish  Parallel  to  the  Beowulf  Story,  Archiv,  cin,  154-6. 
1899  Axon,  W.  E.  A.    A  reference  to  the  evil  eye  in  Beowulf,  Trans,  of  the 

Royal  Soc.  of  Literature,  London.    (Very  slight.) 


History,  Legend,  Composition,  Origin,  etc.         403 

1899  |FuRST,  Clyde.   "Beowulf  "  in  "A  Group  of  Old  Authors."  Philadelphia. 

(Popular.)   Pveview:  Child,  M.L.N,  xv,  31-2. 

1900  FoRSTER,  Max.    Blowulf-Materialien,  zura  Gebrauch  bei  Vorlesungen. 

Braunschweig.      Reviews:    Holthausen,    Anglia,    Beiblatt,    xi,    289; 
Behagel,  Literaturblatt,  1902,  67  (very  brief). 

1908.   2Aufl. 

1912.   3  Aufl.    Review:  Wild,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxiv,  166-7. 

1901  Powell,  F.  York.   Beowulf  and  Watanabe-No-Tsema,  Furnivall  Miscel- 

lany, pp.  395-6.    Oxford.    (A  parallel  from  Japanese  legend.) 

1901  Lehmann,  E.  Fandens  Oldemor,  Dania,  vin,  179-94.  Repeated 
("Teuffels  Grossmutter"),  Archiv  f.  Religionswiss.  vni,  411-30.  (See 
above,  p.  49,  note,  and  p.  381.) 

1901  JOtto,  E.  Typische  Motive  in  dem  welthchen  Epos  der  Angelsachsen. 
Berlin.  Reviews:  Binz,  En^l.  Stud,  xxxn,  401-5;  Spies,  Archiv,  cxv, 
222. 

1901  Uhlenbeck,  C.  C.    Het  Beowulf -epos  als  geschiedbron,  Tijdschrift  voor 

nederlandsche  taal-  en  letterkunde,  xx  (N.  R.  xn),  169-96. 

1902  Gerould,  G.  H.    Ofifa  and  Labhraidh  Maen,  M.L.N,  xvn,  201-3.    (An 

Irish  parallel  of  the  story  of  the  dumb  young  prince.) 

1902  GouGH,  A.  B.  The  Constance-Saga.  Berlin.  (The  "Thrytho  saga," 
pp.  53-83.)  Reviews:  Eckhardt,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxn,  110-3;  Weyrauch, 
Archiv,  cxi,  453. 

1902  Boer,  R.  C.  Die  Beowulf  sage.  i.  Mythische  reconstructionen;  n.  His- 
torische  untersuchung  der  iiberUeferung;  A.f.n.F.  xix  (N.  F.  xv), 
19-88. 

1902  Brandl,  a.    Ueber  den  gegenwartigen  Stand  der  Beowulf -Forschung, 

Archiv,  cvin,  152-5. 

1903  Anderson,  L.  F.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Scop.    {Univ.  of  Toronto  Studies,'^ 

Phil.  Ser.  1.)   Review:  Heusler,  A.f.d.A.  xxxi,  113-5. 

1903  Olrik,  a.  Danmarks  Heltedigtning :  i,  Rolf  Krake  og  den  aeldre  Skjold- 
ungraekke.  Kobenhavn.  (Most  important.)  Reviews:  Heusler, 
A.f.d.A.  XXX,  26-36;  Golther,  Literaturblatt,  xxvm,  1907,  pp.  8-9; 
Ranisch,  A.f.d.A.  xxi,  276-80.    Revised  translation  1919  (q.v.). 

1903  JBoER,  R.  C.  Eene  episode  uit  den  Beowulf,  Handelingen  van  het  3 
nederl.  phil.  congres.,  p.  84  etc. 

1903  A  Summary  of  the  Lives  of  the  Off  as,  with  reproductions  of  a  number  of 
the  drawings  in  MS  Cotton  Nero  D.  I,  in  The  Ancestor,  v,  99-137. 

1903  Hart,  J.  M.  AUotria  [on  the  forms  Beanstan,  1.  524  and  Pry  do,  1.  1931], 
M.L.N,  xvm,  117. 

1903  Stjerna,  K.  Hjalmar  och  svard  i  Beovulf ,  Studier  tilldgnade  O.  Monteliv^^ 

99-120.   Stockholm.   See  above,  pp.  346  etc. 
1903-4  Boer,  R.  C.    Finnsage  und  Nibelungen-sage,  Z.f.d.A.  XLvn,  125-60. 

1904  RiCKERT,  E.  The  O.E.  Offa-saga,  Mod.  Phil,  ii,  29-76  and  321-76.    (Im*^ 

portant.   See  above,  pp.  34  etc.) 
1904   Hagen,  S.  N.   Classical  names  and  stories  in  Beowulf,  M.L.N,  xix,  65-74 

and  1 56-65.   ( Very  fantastic ) . 
1904  Stjerna,  K.    Vendel  och  Vendelkr&ka,  A.f.n.F.  xxi  (N.  F.  xvn),  71-80. 

(Most  important:  see  above,  pp.  343-5.) 

1904  JVetter,  F.    Beowulf  und  das  altdeutsche  Heldenzeitalter  in  England, 

Deutschland,  iii,  558-71. 

1905  Moorman,  F.  W.  The  interpretation  of  nature  in  English  poetry  from 

Beowulf  to  Shakespeare.   Strassburg.    Quellen  u.  Forschungen,  95. 

26—2 


404  BihliograpJiy 

1905  RouTH,  J.  E.  Two  studies  on  the  Ballad  Theory  of  the  Beowulf:  i.  The 
Origin  of  the  Grendel  legend;  ii.  Irrelevant  Episodes  and  Parentheses 
as  features  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetic  Style.  Baltimore.  Reviews: 
Eckhardt,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxvii,  404-5;  Heusler,  A.f.d.A.  xxxi,  115-16; 
Schucking,  D.L.Z.  1905,  pp.  1908-10. 

1905  Heusleb,  a.  Lied  und  Epos  in  germanischer  Sagendichtung.  Dortmund. 
(See  above,  p.  116.)  Reviews:  Kauffmann,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxxvin,  546-8; 
Seemiiller,  A.f.d.A.  xxxiv,  129-35;  Meyer,  Archiv,  cxv,  403-4;  Helm, 
Literaturblatt,  xxvrn,  237-8. 

1905  ScHTJCKiNG,  L.  L.  Beowulfs  Riickkehr.  {Morsbachs  Stvdien,  xxi.)  Halle. 
(Important:  see  above,  pp.  118-20.)  Review:  Brandl,  Archiv,  cxv, 
421-3  (dissenting). 

1905  ScHiJCK,  H.   Studier  i  Ynglingatal,  i-m.   Uppsala. 

1905  Hanscom,  E.  D.  The  Feeling  for  Nature  in  Old  EngUsh  Poetry,  J.E.G.Ph. 

V,  439-63. 
1905  Sarrazin,  G.   Neue  Beowulf  Studien,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxv,  19-27. 
1905  Stjerna,  K.    Skolds  hadanfard,  Stvdier  tilldgnade  H.  Schuck,  110-34. 

Stockholm. 

1905  JStjerna,   K.     Svear    och   Gotar    under    folkvandringstiden,   Svenska 

Fornminnesforeningens  Tidskr.  xn,  339-60.    (Transl.  by  Clark  Hall  in 

Essays.  See  under  1912.) 
1905-6  RiEGEB,  M.   Zum  Kampf  in  Finnsburg,  Z.fd.A.  XLvni,  &-12. 
1905-6  Heusler,  A.   Zur  Skioldungendichtung,  Z.f.d.A.  XLvin,  57-87. 
1905-6  Neckel,  J.   Studien  iiber  FroSi,  Z.f.d.A.  XLvm,  163-86. 
1905-7   STJEB>f A,  K.    Arkeologiska  anteckningar  till  Beovulf,  Kungl.  vitterhets 

akademiens  mdnadsblad  for  1903-5  (1907),  pp.  436-51. 

1906  Emerson,  0.  F.    Legends  of  Cain,  especially  in  Old  and  Middle  English 

(see  particularly  §  vi,  "Cain's  Descendants"),  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc. 

Amer.  xxi,  831-929.   (Important.) 
1906  Skemp,  a.  R.  Transformation  of  scriptural  story,  motive,  and  conception 

in  Anglo-Saxon  poetry,  31  od.  Phil,  iv,  423-70. 
1906  Duff,  J.  W.    Homer  and  Beowulf :  a  literary  parallel,  Saga-Book  of  the 

Viking  Club.   London. 
1906  MoRSBACH,  L.    Zur  datierung  des  Beowulf-epos,  Nachrichten  der  kgl.  Ges. 

d.  Wiss.  zu  Gottingen,  Phil.-Hist.  Klasse,  pp.  252-77.   (Important.   See 

above,  pp.  107-12.) 
1906  Pfandler,  W.   Die  Vergniigungen  der  Angelsachsen,  Anglia,  xxix,  417- 

526.. 
1906  Garlanda,    F.     Beowulf.      Origini,    bibliografia,    metrica...significato 

storico,  etico,  sociologico.   Roma.    (Slight.) 

1906  Stjerna,  K.   Drakskatten  i  Beovulf,  Fornvdnnen,  i,  119-44. 

1907  Chad  WICK,  H.  M.  Origin  of  the  English  Nation.  Cambridge.  (Important.) 

Reviews:  Andrews,  M.L.N,  xxm,  261-2;  Chambers,  M.L.R.  iv,  262-6; 

Schiitte,  A.f.n.F.  xxv  (N.  F.  xxi),  310-32  (an  elaborate  discussion  of 

earlv  Germanic  ethnology  and  geography) ;  Huchon,  Revue  Germanique, 

m,  625-31. 
1907   Chad  WICK,  H.  M.    "Early  National  Poetry,"  in  Cambridge  History  of 

English Literature,ro\.  1,19-32,4:21-3.  Important.  See  above,  pp.  122-6. 
1907   Hart,  Walter  Morris.    Ballad  and  Epic.    Boston:  Harvard  Studies 

and  Notes  in  Philology  and  Literature.    (Important:  see  above,  p.  116.) 

Review:  Archiv,  cxix,  468. 
1907    Olrik,  a.    Nordisk  AandsUv  i  Vikingetid  og  tidlig  Middelalder.    K0ben- 

havn  og  Kristiania.    (Translated  into  German  by  W.  Ranisch,  1908, 

as  "Nordisches  Geistesleben.") 


I 


History y  Legend^  Composition^  Origin^  etc.  405 

1907  ScHUCK,  H.  Folknamnet  Geatas  i  den  fornengelska  dikten  Beowulf. 
Uppsala.  (Important.  See  above,  pp.  8-10,  333  etc.)  Reviews:  Mawer, 
M.L.R.  IV,  273;  Freeburg,  J.E.O.Ph.  xi,  279-83. 

1907  Cook,  A.  S.  Various  notes,  M.L.N,  xxi,  146-7.  (Further  classical  parallels 
to  Beowulf,  1408  ff.,  in  succession  to  a  parallel  from  Seneca  quoted  in 
M.L.N,  xvn,  209-10.) 

1907  Sarrazin,  G.  Zur  Chronologic  u.  Verfasserfrage  Ags.  Dichtungen,  Engl. 
Stvd.  xxxvin,  145  etc,  esp.  170-95  (Das  Beowulflied  und  die  altere 
Genesis). 

1907  Brandl,  a.  Entstehungsgeschichte  des  Beowulf  epos.  A  five-hne  sum- 
mary of  this  lecture  is  given  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  d.  k.  preuss.  Akad. 
Phil.-Hist.  Classe,  p.  615. 

1907  Holthausen,  F.  Zur  altenglischen  literatur — Zur  datierung  des  Beowulf, 
Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xvin,  77. 

1907  JGruner,  H.   Mathei  Parisiensis  vitae  duorum  OfEanim,  in  ihrer  manu- 

skript-  und  textgeschichte.   Dissertation,  Munich.   Kaiserslautem. 

1908  Brandl,  A,     Geschichte  der  alteng.   Literatur.     (Offprint  from  Pavls 

Grdr.{2):  Beowulf,  pp.  988-1024;  Finnsburg,  pp.  983-6;  an  exceedmgly 

useful  and  discriminating  summary.) 
1908  ScHUCKiNG,  L.  L.  Das  Angelsachsische  Totenklagelied,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxix, 

1-13. 
1908   Weyhe,  H.   Konig  Ongentheow's  Fall,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  14r-39. 
1908  Neckel,  G.    Beitrage  zur  Eddaf orschung ;  Anhang:  Die  altgermanische 

heldenklage  (pp.  495-6:  cf.  p.  376).    Dortmund. 
1908   Klaeber,  F.    Zum  Finnsburg  Kampfe,  Engl.  Stvd.  xxxix,  307-8. 
1908  Bjorkman,  E.   tJber  den  Namen  der  Jiiten,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxix,  356-61. 
1908   Levander,   L.     Sagotraditioner  om  Sveakonungen  Adils,   Antikvarisk 

Tidskrift  for  Sverige,  xvm,  3. 
1908  Stjerna,  K.    Fasta  fomlamningar  i  Beovulf,  Antikvarisk  Tidskrift  for 

Sverige,  xvm,  4. 

1908  Graf,  G.    Quellen  u.  Verwandtschaften  der  alteren  germanischen  Dar- 

stellungen   des  jiingsten  Gerichtes.     Halle.     (See   esp.   pp.    145-56.) 
Review:  Guntermann,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xli,  401-415. 

1909  ScHUCK,    H.     Studier  i   BeowuKsagan.     Uppsala.     Review:    Freeburg, 

J.E.O.Ph.  XI,  488-97  (a  very  useful  summary). 
1909   Lawrence,  W.  W.    Some  disputed  questions  in  Beowulf-criticism,  Pnh. 

Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxiv,  220-73.    (Very  important.)    Review: 

Brandl,  Archiv,  cxxm,  473. 
1909   Ehrismann,    G.     Religionsgeschichtliche    Beitrage    zum    germanischen 

Fruhchristentum,  P.B.B.  xxxv,  209-39. 
1909   BuGGE,  S.    Die  Heimat  der  Altnordischen  Lieder  von  den  Welsimgen  u. 

den  Nibelungen,  ii,  P.B.B.  xxxv,  240-71. 

1909  Deutschbein,  M.    Die  Sagenhistorischen  u.  literarischen  Grundlagen  des 

Beowulfepos,  Germanisch-Romanische  Monatsschrift,  i,  103-19. 

1910  Olbik,  a.  Danmarks  Heltedigtning :  n,  Starkad  den  gamle  og  den  yngre 

Skjoldungraekke.  Kobenhavn.  (Most  important.)  Reviews:  Heusler, 
A.f.d.A.  xxxv,  169-83  (important);  Ussing,  Danske  Studier,  1910,  193- 
203;  Boer,  Museum,  xix,  1912,  171-4. 
1910  Panzer,  F.  Studien  zur  germanischen  Sagengeschichte.  i.  Beowulf. 
Miinchen.  (Most  important:  see  above,  pp.  62-8;  365-81.  Valuable 
criticisms  and  modifications  are  suppUed  by  the  reviews,  more  particu- 
larly perhaps  that  of  von  Sydow  (A.f.d.A.  xxxv,  123-31),  but  also  in 
the  elaborate  discussions  of  Heusler  (Engl.  Stud.  XLn,  289-98),  Binz 
{Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxiv,  321-37),  Brandl  (Archiv,  cxxvi,  231-5),  Kahle 


406  BihliograpJiy 

(Z.f.d.Ph.  XLin,  383-94)  and  the  briefer  ones  of  Lawrence  (M.L.N. 

xxvn,    57-60)   Sedgefield   [M.L.R.    vi,    128-31)    and    Golther   {Neue 

Jahrbiicher  f.  das  klassische  AUertum,  xxv,  610-13).) 
1910   Bradley,  H.     Beowulf,  in  Encyclopsedia  Britannica,  in,  pp.   758-61. 

(Important.   See  above,  pp.  121,  127-8.) 
1910  ScHUCK,  H.   Sveriges  forkristna  konungalangd.   Uppsala. 
1910  Clark  Hall,  J,  R.    A  note  on  Beowulf,  1142-5,  M.L.N,  xxv,  113-14. 

(Hunldfing.) 
1910  Sarrazin,  G.   Neue  Beowulf-studien,  Engl.  Stud,  xlii,  1-37. 
1910  Klaeber,  F.   Die  altere  Genesis  und  der  Beowulf,  Engl.  Stud,  xlii,  321- 

38. 
1910  Heusler,  a.   Zeitrechnung  im  Beowulf-epos,  Archiv,  cxxiv,  9-14. 
1910  Neckel,    G.     Etwas    von    germanischer    Sagenforschung,    Germ.-Rom. 

Monatsschrift,  n,  1-14. 

1910  Smithson,  G.  a.    The  Old  English  Christian  Epic... in  comparison  with 

the  Beowulf.  Berkeley.  Univ.  of  California  Pub.  in  Mod.  Phil.  (See 
particularly  pp.  363-8,  376-90.) 

1911  Clarke,  M.  G.    Sidelights  on  Teutonic  History.    Cambridge.    Reviews: 

Mawer,  M.L.N,  vn,  126-7;  Chambers,  Engl.  Stud.  XLVin,  166-8;  Fehr, 
Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxvr,  19-20;  Imelmann,  D.L.Z.  xxxiv,  1913,  1062  etc. 

1911-19  Heusler,  A.  A  series  of  articles  in  Hoops'  Reallexikon:  Beowulf, 
Dichtung,  Ermenrich,  Gautensagen,  Heldensage,  Hengest,  Heremod, 
Offa,  Skjgldungar,  Ynglingar,  etc.   Strassburg.    (Important.) 

1911  Neckel,  G.  Ragnacharius  von  Cambrai,  Festschrift  zur  Jahrhundertfeier 
der  Universitdt  zu  Breslau  =  Mitt.  d.  Schlesischen  Gesellschaft  fur  Volks- 
kunde,  xm-xiv,  121-54.  (A  historical  parallel  between  the  treatment 
of  Ragnachar  by  Chlodowech  and  that  of  Hrethric  by  Hrothulf.) 

1911  Schonfeld,  M.  Worterbuch  der  altgermanischen  Personen-  und  Volker- 
namen.  Heidelberg.  See  also  Schiitte,  Noter  til  Schonfelds  Navne- 
samling,  in  A.f.n.F.  xxxiii,  22-49. 

1911  Klaeber,  F.  Aeneis  und  Beowulf,  Archiv,  cxxvi,  40-8,  339-59.  (Im- 
portant: see  above,  p.  330.) 

1911  Liebermann,  F.    Grendel  als  Personenname,  Archiv,  oxxvi,  180. 
1911-12   Klaeber,  F.     Die  Christlichen  Elemente  im  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xxxv, 

1 1 1-36,  249-70, 453-82 ;  xxxvi,  169-99.  (Most  important :  demonstrates 
the  fundamentally  Christian  character  of  the  poem.) 

1912  Chadwick,  H.  Munro.    The  Heroic  Age.    Cambridge.    (Important:  see 

above,  p.  122.)  Reviews:  Mawer,  M.L.R.  vni,  207-9;  Chambers,  Engl. 
Stud.  XLVin,  162-6. 

1912  Stjerna,  K.  Essays  on  questions  connected  with  the  O.E.  poem  of 
Beowulf,  transl.  and  ed.  by  John  R.  Clark  Hall,  (Viking  Club),  Coventry. 
(Important:  see  above,  pp.  346  etc.)  Reviews:  Klaeber,  J. E.G. Ph.  xiii, 
167-73,  weighty;  Mawer,  M.L.N,  vm,  242-3;  Athenaeum,  1913,  i,  459- 
60;  Brandl,  Archiv,  cxxxii,  238-9;  Schutte,  A.f.n.F.  xxxm,  64-96, 
elaborate;  Olrik,  Nord.  Tidskr.  f.  Filol.  iv,  2.  127;  Mogk,  Historische 
Vierteljahrsschrift,  xvni,  196-7. 

1912  Chambers,  R.  W.  Widsith:  a  study  in  Old  English  heroic  legend.  Cam- 
bridge. Reviews:  Mawer,  M.L.R.  vrn,  118-21;  Lawrence,  M.L.N. 
xxvin,  53-5;  Fehr,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxvi,  289-95;  Jordan,  Engl.  Stud. 
XLV,  300-2;  Berendsohn,  Liter aturblatt,  xxxv  (1914),  384-6. 

1912  Boer,  R.  C.  Die  Altenglische  Heldendiclitung.  i.  Beowulf.  Halle, 
(Important.)  Reviews:  JJantzen,  Z.  f.  franzosischen  u.  englischen 
Unterricht,  xin,  546-7;  Berendsohn,  Liter  aturblatt,  xxxv,  152-4; 
Dyboski,  Allgemeines  Literaturblatt,  xxn,  1913,  497-9;  Imelmann, 
D.L.Z.  xxxiv,  1913,  1062-6  (weighty  criticisms);  Barnouw,  Museum, 
xxi,  53-8. 


History,  Legend,  Composition,  Origin,  etc,  407 

1912  VON  DER  Leyen,  F.  Die  deutschen  Heldensagen  (Beowulf,  pp.  107-23, 
345-7).   Miinchen. 

1912  Meyer,  W.  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  Eroberung  Englands.  Disserta- 
tion, Halle.   (Finn  story.) 

1912  Lawrence,  W.  W.  The  haunted  mere  in  Beowulf.  Pvb.  Mod.  Lang. 
Assoc.  Amer.  xxvii,  208-45.    (Important.   See  above,  pp.  52-3.) 

1912  ScHiJTTE,  G.  The  Geats  of  Beowulf,  J.E.G.Ph.  xi,  574^602.  (See  above, 
pp.  8,  333  etc.) 

1912  Stefanovi6,  S.  Bin  beitrag  zur  angelsachsischen  Offa-sage,  Anglia,  xxxv, 
483-525. 

1912  Much,  R.  Orendel,  Worte^-  u.  Sachen,  iv,  170-3.  (Deriving  Vendsyssel^ 
Vandal,  and  the  Wendle  of  Beowulf  from  wandil—^'' a,  bough,  wand.") 

1912  Chambers,  R.  W.    Six  thirteenth  century  drawings  illustrating  the  story 

of  Off  a  and  of  Thryth  (Drida)  from  MS  Cotton  Nero  D.  I.    London, 
privately  printed. 

1913  JFahlbeck,    p.     Beowulfskvadet    som    kalla    for  nordisk  fomhistoria. 

(Stockholm,  N.  F.  K.   Vitterhets  Historic  och  Antikvitets  Akademien^ 

Handlingar,  13,  3.)   Review:  Klaeber,  Ev^l.  Stud.  XLVin,  435-7. 
1913  Nerman,  B.   Studier  over  Svarges  hedna  litteratur.   Uppsala. 
1913  Nerman,  B.   Vilka  konungar  ligga  i  Uppsala  hogar?   Uppsala. 
1913   Lawrence,  W.  W.  The  Breca  episode  in  Beowulf  (Anniversary  papers 

to  G.  L.  Kittredge).    Boston. 
1913   Sarraztn,  G.    Von  Kadmon  bis  Kynewulf.    Berlin.    Reviews:  Dudley, 

J.E.G.Ph.  XV,  313-17;  Berendsohn,  Liter aturllatt,  xxxv  (1914),  386-8; 

Funke,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxxi,  121-33. 
1913  Thomas,  P.  G.    Beowulf  and  Daniel  A,  M.L.R.  vra,  537-9.    (Parallels 

between  the  two  poems.)     ' 
1913   Belden,  H.  M.    Onela  the  Scylfing  and  Ali  the  Bold,  M.L.N,  xxvm, 

149-53. 
1913   Stedman,  D.    Some  points  of  resemblance  between  Beowulf  and  the 

Grettla  (or  Grettis  Saga).    From  the  Saga  Book  of  the  Viking  Club, 

London.    (It  should  have  been  held  unnecessary  to  prove  the  relation- 
ship yet  once  again.) 
1913   VON  Sydow,  C.  W.    Irisches  in  Beowulf  i.    {Verhandlungen  der  52  Ver- 

sammlung  deutscher  Philologen  in  Marburg,  pp.  177-80.) 
1913   Berendsohn,  W.  A.  Drei  Schichten  dichterischer  Gestaltung  im  Beowulf - 

epos,  Miinchener  Museum,  u,  i,  pp.  1-33. 
1913   Deutschbein,   M.     Beowulf   der   Gautenkonig,    Festschrift  fur   Lorenz 

Morsbach,  Halle,  pp.  291-7,  Morsbachs  Studien,  l.    (Very  important. 

Expresses  very  well,  and  with  full  working  out  of  details,  the  doubts 

which  some  of  us  had  already  felt  as  to  the  historic  character  of  the 

reign  of  Beowulf  over  the  Geatas.) 
^  Most  students  nowadays  will  probably  agree  with  v.  Sydow's  contention 
that  the  struggle  of  Beowulf,  first  above  ground  and  then  below,  is  a  folk- 
story,  one  and  indivisible,  and  that  therefore  there  is  no  reason  for  attributing 
the  two  sections  to  different  authors,  as  do  Boer,  Miillenhoff  and  ten  Brink. 
But  that  the  folk-tale  is  exclusively  Celtic  remains  to  be  proved;  v.  Sydow's 
contention  that  Celtic  influence  is  shown  in  Beowulf  by  the  inhospitable  shame- 
lessness  of  Unferth  (compare  that  of  Kai)  is  surely  fanciful.  Also  the  statement 
that  the  likeness  of  Bjarki  and  Beowulf  is  confined  to  the  freeing  of  the  Danish 
palace  from  a  dangerous  monster  by  a  stranger  from  abroad,  and  that  "das 
sonstige  Beiwerk  vollig  verschieden  ist"  surely  cannot  be  maintained.  As 
argued  above  (pp.  54-61)  there  are  other  distinct  points  of  resemblance. 

V.  Sydow's  statement  no  doubt  suffers  from  the  brevity  with  which  it  is 
reported,  and  his  forthcoming  volume  of  Beovmlf  studien  wiU  be  awaited  with 
interest. 


408  Bibliography 

1913  Benary,  W.  Zum  Beowulf-Grendelsage,  Archiv,  cxxx,  154-5.  (Grandels- 

mor  in  Siebenbiirgen :  see  above,  p.  308.) 
1913  Klaeber,  F.   Das  Grandelsmor — eine  Frage,  Archiv,  cxxxi,  427. 

1913  Brate,  E.    Betydelsen  av  ortnamnet  Skalv  [cf.  Scilfingas],  Namn  och 

Bygd,  i,  102-8. 

1914  MiJLLER,  J.   Das  Kulturbild  des  Beowulfepos.   Halle.   Morshachs  Stvdien, 

Lin.  Reviews:  Klaeber,  Ariglia,  Beihlattf  xxvn,  241-4;  Brunner, 
Archiv,  cxxxvin,  242-3. 

1914  Moorman,  F.  W.  English  place-names  and  Teutonic  Sagas,  in  Essays  and 
Studies  by  members  of  the  English  Association,  vol.  v,  pp.  75-103. 
(Argues  that  "Gilling"  and  other  place-names  in  Yorkshire,  point  to 
an  early  colony  of  Scandinavian  "Gautar,"  who  may  have  been  instru- 
mental in  introducing  Scandinavian  traditions  into  England.) 

1914  Olson,  0.  L.  Beowulf  and  the  Feast  of  Bricriu,  Mod.  Phil  xi,  407-27. 
(Emphasises  the  slight  character  of  the  parallels  noted  by  Deutschbein.) 

1914  VON  Sydow,  C.  W.  Grendel  i  anglosaxiska  ortnamn,  vaNordiska  Ortnamn, 

hyllningsskrift  tilldgnad  Adolf  Noreen,  Uppsala,  pp.  160-4  =  Namn  och 
Bygd,  it.   (Important). 

1915  KiER,  Chr.    Beowulf,  et  Bidrag  til  Nordens  Oldhistorie.    Kobenhavn. 

(An  elaborate  and  painstaking  study  of  the  historic  problems  of  Beowulf, 
vitiated  throughout  by  quite  unjustifiable  assumptions.  See  above, 
p.  333  etc.)   Review:  Bjorkmann,  Anglia,  Beihlatt,  xxvn,  244-6. 

1915  Bradley,  H.  The  Numbered  Sections  in  Old  Enghsh  Poetical  MSS,  Proc. 
Brit.  Acad.  vol.  vn. 

1915  Lawrence,  W.  W.  Beowulf  and  the  tragedy  of  Finnsburg,  Pub.  Mod. 
Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  xxx,  372-431.  (Important.  An  excellent  survey 
of  the  Finnsburg  problems.) 

1915  VAN  SwERiNGEN,  G.  F.  The  main... types  of  men  in  the  Germanic  Hero- 
Sagas,  J.E.G.Ph.  xiv,  212-25. 

1915-19  LiNDROTH,  H.  Ar  Sk&ne  de  gamles  Scadinavia?  Namn  och  Bygd,  m, 
1915,  10-28.  Lindroth  denied  that  the  two  words  are  the  same,  and 
was  answered  by  A.  Kock  [A.f.n  F.  xxxiv,  1917,  71  etc.),  A.  Noreen 
(in  %Stvdier  tillegn.  E.  Tegner,  1918)  and  E.  Bjorkman  ("Scedeland, 
Scedenig,"  Namn  och  Bygd,  vi,  1918,  162-8).  Lindroth  replied  ("Aro 
Scadinavia  och  Sk&ne  samma  ord,"  A.f.n.F.  xxxv,  1918,  29  etc.,  and 
"Skandinavien  och  Sk&ne,"  Namn  och  Bygd,  vi,  1918,  104^12)  and 
was  answered  by  Kock  ("Vidare  om  Sk&ne  och  Scadinavia,"  A.f.n.F. 
xxxvi,  74-85).  Bjorkman's  discussion  is  the  one  of  chief  importance 
to  students  of  Beowulf. 

1915  Klaeber,  F.    Observations  on  the  Finn  episode,  J.E.G.Ph.  xiv,  544-9 

1915  Anscombe,  a.  Beowulf  in  High-Dutch  saga.  Notes  and  Queries,  Aug.  21, 
1915,  pp.  133-4. 

1915  Berendsohn,  Walter  A.   Die  Gelage  am  Danenhof  zu  Ehren  Beowulfs, 

Miin^hener  Museum,  m,  i,  31-55. 

1915-16  Pizzo,  E.  Zur  frage  der  asthetischen  einheit  des  Beowulf,  Anglia, 
xxxix,  1-15.  (Sees  in  Beowulf  the  uniform  expression  of  the  early 
Anglo-Saxon  Christian  ideal.) 

1916  Olson,  0.  L.  The  relation  of  the  Hrolfs  Saga  Kraka  and  the  Bjarkarimur 

to  Beowulf.  Chicago.  (Olson  emphasises  that  the  monster  slain  by 
Bjarki  in  the  Saga  does  not  attack  the  hall,  but  the  cattle  outside,  and 
is  therefore  a  different  kind  of  monster  from  Grendel  (p.  30).  But  he 
does  not  disprove  the  general  equation  of  Beowulf  and  Bjarki:  many 
of  the  most  striking  points  of  resemblance,  such  as  the  support  given 
to  Eadgils(Athils)  against  Onela  (Ali),lie  outside  the  scope  of  his  study. 
Review:  Hollander,  J.E.G.Ph.  xvi,  147-9. 


History,  Legend,  Composition,  Origin,  etc,  409 

1916  Neckbl,  G.   Adel  und  gefolgschaft,  P.B.B.  xu,  385-436  (esp.  pp.  410  ff. 

for  social  conditions  in  Beowulf). 

1917  Flom,  G.  T.    Alliteration  and  Variation  in  Old  Germanic  name  giving, 

M.L.N,  xxxn,  7-17. 

1917  Mead,  G.  W.  WiSersyld  of  Beowulf,  2051,  M.L.N,  xxxn,  435-6.  (Sug- 
gests, very  reasonably,  that  WiSerjyld  is  the  father  of  the  young 
Heathobard  warrior  who  is  stirred  to  revenge.) 

1917  Aybes,  H.  M.  The  tragedy  of  Hengest  in  Beowulf,  J.E.O.Ph.  xvi,  282-95. 
(See  above,  pp.  266-7.) 

1917  AuENEB,  N.  S.  An  analysis  of  the  interpretations  of  the  Finnsburg 
documents.    {Univ.  of  Iowa  Monographs:  Humanistic  Stvdies,  i,  6.) 

1917  BjSrkman,  E.  Zu  ae.  Eote,  Yte,  usw.,  dan.  Jyder,  "Jiiten,"  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xxvm,  275-80.    (See  above,  p.  334.) 

1917  RooTH,  E.  G.  T.  Der  name  Grendel  in  der  Beowulfsage,  Anglia,  Beiblatt, 
xxvni,  335-40.  (Etymologies.  Grendel  is  the  "sandman,"  a  man- 
eating  monster  of  the  sea-bottom.  With  this,  compare  Panzer's  inter- 
pretation of  Grendel  as  the  "earthman."   See  above,  p.  309.) 

1917  ScHTJCKiNG,  L.  L.  Wann  entstand  der  Beowulf?  Glossen,  Zweifel  und 
Fragen,  P.B.B.  xlh,  347-410.   (Important.   See  above,  pp.  322-32.) 

1917  Fog,  Reginald.  Trolden  "Grendel"  i  Bjovulf:  en  hypothese,  Danske 
Studier,  1917,  134-40.  (Grendel  is  here  interpreted  as  an  infectious 
disease,  prevalent  among  those  who  sleep  in  an  ill-ventilated  hall  in 
a  state  of  intoxication,  but  to  which  Beowulf,  whose  health  has  been 
confirmed  by  a  recent  sea-voyage,  is  not  liable.  This  view  is  not  as  new 
as  its  author  believes  it  to  be,  and  a  letter  from  von  Holstein  Rathlau 
is  added,  pointing  this  out.  It  might  further  have  been  pointed  out 
that  as  early  as  1879  Grendel  was  explained  as  the  malaria.  Cf.  the 
theories  of  Laistner,  Kogel  and  Golther,  and  see  above,  p.  46.) 

1917  Neuhaus,  J.  Sillende  =  vetus  patriae  Angel,  Nordisk  Tidsskrift  for 
Filologi,  iv.  Raekke,  Bd.  v,  125-6;  Helges  Prinsesse  Sv&v&  =  Eider 
=den  svebiske  Flod  hos  Ptolemseos,  vi,  29-32;  Halfdan= Erode 
=  Hadbardemes  Konge,  hvis  Rige  forenes  med  det  danske,  vi,  78-80; 
Vegtgermanske  Navne  i  dansk  Historie  og  Sprog,  141-4.  The  inherent 
difficulty  of  the  subject  is  enhanced  by  the  obscurity  of  the  writer's 
style:  but  much  of  the  argument  (e.g.  that  Halfdan  and  Erode  are 
identical)  is  obviously  based  upon  quite  reckless  conjectures.  The 
question  is  complicated  by  political  feeling:  many  of  Neuhaus'  argu- 
ments are  repeated  in  his  pamphlet.  Die  Frage  von  Nordschleswig  im 
Lichte  der  neuesten  vorgeschichtlichen  Untersuchungen,  Jena,  1919.  His 
theories  were  vigorously  refuted  by  G.  Schuttb.  "  Urjyske  '  Vestger- 
maner,' "  Nordisk  Tidsskrift  far  Filologi,  iv.  Raekke,  Bd,  vn,  129  etc. 

1917   JFbedboeg.   Det  forsta  &rtalet  i  Sveriges  historia.   Ume&. 

1917  Nebman,  B.  Ynglingasagan  i  arkeologisk  belysning,  Fornvdnnen,  1917, 
226-61. 

1917  Nebman,  B.  Ottar  Vendelkr&ka  och  Ottarshogen  i  Vendel,  Upplands 
Fornminnesforenings  Tidskrift,  vn,  309-34. 

1917  Bjobkman,  E.    Beowulf  och  Sveriges  Historia,  Nordisk  Tidskrift,  1917, 

161-79. 
1917-18  tvoN  Sydow,  C.  W.     Draken  som  skattevaktare,  Danmarks  folke- 
minder,  xvn,  103  etc. 

1918  Hackenbebg,  E.    Die  Stammtafeln  der  angelsachsischen  Konigreiche, 

Dissertation,  Berlin.    (A  useful  collection.)    Reviews:  Fischer,  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xxxi,  73-4;  Ekwall,  En^l.  Stud,  uv,  307-10;  Liebermann, 
D.L.Z.  1  March,  1919. 
1918  Laweence,  W.  W.  The  dragon  and  his  lair  in  Beowulf,  Pub.  Mod.  Lang 
Assoc.  Amer.  xxxm,  547-83. 

26-^ 


410  Bibliography 

1918  Belden,  H.  M.  Beowulf  62,  once  more,  M.L.N,  xxxin,  123. 
1918  Belden,  H.  M.   Scyld  Scefing  and  Huck  Finn,  M.L.N,  xxxin,  315. 
1918  Klaebeb,  F.    Concerning  the  relation  between  Exodus  and  Beowulf, 

M.L.N,  xxxra,  218-24. 
1918  Bjobkman,  E.     Beow,  Beaw,  und  Beowulf,  Engl.  Stiid.  ui,  145-93. 

(Very  important.   See  above,  p.  304.) 
1918  Bbandl,  a.    Die  Urstammtafel  der  Westsachsen  imd  das  Beowulf -Epos, 

Archiv,  cxxxvn,  6-24.   (See  above,  p.  200,  note.) 
1918   Bbandl,  a.    Die  urstammtafel  der  engUschen  konige,  Sitzungsberichte 

d.  k.  preuss.  Akad.,  Phil. -Hist.  Classe,  p.  5.    (Five  line  summary  only 

published). 
1918  JBjobkman,  E.  Beowulf-forskning  och  mytologi,  Finsk  Tidakrifty  151  etc, 

(Cf.  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxx,  207.) 
1918  Bjobkman,  E.    Skoldungaattens  mytiska  stamfader,  Nordisk  Tidskrift, 

163  etc. 
1918  V.  Unwebth,  W.    Eine  schwed.  Heldensage  als  deutsches  Volksepos, 

A.f.n.F.  XXXV,  113-37.    (An  attempt  to  connect  the  story  of  Hygelac 

and  Hsethcyn  with  the  M.H.G.  Herhort  Hz  Tendant.) 
1918  Neuhaus,  J.    Om  Skjold,  A.f.n.F.  xxxv,  166-72.   (A  dogmatic  assertion 

of  errors  in  Ohik's  arguments  in  the  Heltedigtning.) 
1918  Clausen,  H.  V.    Kong  Hugleik,  Danske  Stvdier,  137-49.    (Conjectures 

based  upon  the  assumption  Geatas=  Jutes.) 

1918  JLuND  University  "Festskrift"  contains   Nobond,  Skattsagner;   von 

Sydow,  Sigurds  strid  med  Favne. 

1919  Oleik,  a.  The  heroic  legends  of  Denmark  translated... and  revised  in 

collaboration  with  the  author  by  Lee  M.  Hollander.   New  York.   (Very 

important.)   Review:  Flom,  J.E.G.Ph.  xix,  284^90. 
1919  Bjobkman,  E.     Bed  wig  in  den  westsachsischen  genealogien,  Anglia, 

Beiblatt,  xxx,  23. 
1919  Bjobkman,   E.     Zu  einigen  Namen  im   Beowulf:   Breca,   Brondingas, 

WealhJ)eo{w);  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xxx,  170-80. 

1919  MoGK,  E.  Altgermanische  Spukgeschichten :  Zugleich  ein  Beitrag  zur 
Erklarung  der  Grendelepisode  im  Beowulf,  Neue  Jahrbilcher  fur  das 
Mass.  altertum...und  deutsche  literatur,  xxxiv,  103-17.  (Mogk  here 
abandons  his  older  allegorical  interpretation  of  Grendel  as  the  destroying 
power  of  the  sea,  and  sees  in  the  Grendel-story  a  Germanic  ghost-tale, 
poetically  adorned.) 

1919  Bjobkman,  E.  Skialf  och  Skilfing  [edited  by  E.  Ekwall,  with  a  note  on 
Bjorkman's  work],  Namn  och  Bygd,  vn,  163-81. 

1919  LiNDEBHOLM,  E.  Vendclshogens  konunganamn  i  socknens  1600-tals- 
tradition,  Namn  och  Bygd,  vn,  36-40. 

1919  Fog,  R.  Bjarkemaals  "Hjalte,"  Danske  Studier,  1919,  29-35.  (With  a 
letter  from  A.  Olrik.) 

1919  Sevebinsen,  P.   Kong  Hugleiks  Dpdsaar,  Danske  Studier,  1919,  96. 

1920  Imelmann,  R.   Forschungen  zur  altenglischen  Poesie.    (ix.Hengest  u. 

Finn;  x.  Enge  dnpadas,  uncud  geldd;  xn.  pry  do;  xni.  Hse/>enra  hyht.) 
Berlin.   (A  weighty  statement  of  some  original  views). 

1920  Bjobkman,  E.  Studien  iiber  die  Eigennamen  im  Beowulf.  HaUe.  Mors- 
bachs  Studien,  Lvm.  (An  extremely  valuable  and  discriminating  digest. 
See  above,  p.  304.) 

1920  Babto,  p.  S.  The  Schwanritter-Sceaf  Myth  in  Perceval  le  Gallois,  J.E.O.Ph, 
XIX,  190-200. 

1920  HuBBABD,  F.  G.   The  plundering  of  the  Hoard.  Univ.Wisconsin8tud.il, 


History  and  Legend:  Style  and  Grammar         411 

1920  ScHtJCKiNG,  L.  L.   WiSergyld  (Beowulf,  2051),  Ethcjl.  Stud.  Lin,  468-70. 

(Schiicking,  like  Mead,  but  independently,  interprets  Withergyld  as 

the  name  of  the  warrior  whose  son  is  being  stirred  to  revenge.) 
1920  Bjoekman,  E.    HaetScyn  und  Hakon,  Engl.  Stud,  liv,  24-34. 
1920  Hoops,  J.    Das  Verhiillen  des  Haupts  bei  Toten,  ein  angelsachsisch- 

nordischer  Branch  (Zu  Beowulf,  446,  hafcdan  hydan),  Engl.  Stud,  uv, 

19-23. 
1920  NoBEEN,  A.   Yngve,  Inge,  Inglinge  [Ingwine],  Namn  och  Bygd,  vm,  1-8. 
1920  La  Cour,  V.    Lejrestudier,  Danske  Stvdier,   1920,  49-67.     (Weighty. 

Emphasizing  the  importance  of  the  site  of  Leire  in  the  sixth  century.) 

A  discussion  on  the  date  and  origin  of  Beowulf,  by  Liebermann,  is 

about  to  appear  {Qott.  Gdehrt.  Oesdlschaff). 

§  9.  STYLE  AND  GRAMMAR 

Titles  already  given  in  previous  sections  are  not  repeated  here.  General 
treatises  on  O.E.  style  and  grammar  are  recorded  here  only  if  they  have  a 
special  and  exceptional  bearing  upon  Beowulf. 

1873  Lichtenheld,  A.    Das  schwache  adjectiv  im  ags.,  Z.f.d.A.  xvi,  325-93. 

(Important.   See  above,  pp.  105-7.) 
1875  Heinzel,  R.    "Dber  den  Stil  der  altgermanischen  Poesie.    Strassburg. 

{Qudlen  u.  Forschungen,  x.)   (Important  and  suggestive:  led  to  further 

studies  on  the  style  of  Beowulf,  such  as  those  of  Hoffmann  and  Bode.) 

Review:  Zimmer,  A.f.d.A.  n,  29^300. 
1877   JAendt,  O.   Uber  die  altgerm.  epische  Sprache.   Paderbom. 
1877  ScHONBACH,  A.   [A  discussion  of  words  peculiar  to  sections  of  Beowulf, 

added  to  a  review  of  Ettmiiller's  Beowulf],  A.f.d.A.  in,  36-46.    See 

also  Moller,  Volksepos,  60  etc. 
1879  Nader,  E.    Zur  Syntax  des  Beowulf.    Progr.  der  Staats-Ober-Realschule, 

in  Briinn.    Review:  Bernhardt,  Literaturblatt,  1880,  439-40  (imfavour- 

able:  reply  by  Nader  and  answer  by  Bernhardt,  1881,  119-20). 

1881  JGuMMERE,  F.  B.  The  Anglo-Saxon  metaphor.   Dissertation,  Freiburg. 

1882  ScHEMANN,  K.     Die  Synonyma  im  Beowulf sliede,  mit  Riicksicht  auf 

Composition  u.  Poetik  des  Gedichtes.  Hagen.  Dissertation,  Miinster. 
(Examines  the  use  of  noun -synonyms  in  the  different  sections  of  the 
poem  as  divided  by  MiiUenhoff,  and  finds  no  support  for  Mullenhoff's 
theories.)  Review:  Kluge,  Literaturblatt,  1883,  62-3. 
1882  JNader,  E.  Der  Genitiv  im  Beowulf.  Briinn.  Review:  Klinghardt, 
Engl.  Stud.  \i,  288. 

1882  ScHTJLZ,    F.     Die    Sprachformen    des    Hildebrand-Liedes   im    Beovolf. 

Konigsberg. 

1883  Nader,    E.      Dativ    u.    Instrumental   im    Beowulf.     Wien.      Review: 

KUnghardt,  Engl.  Stud,  vn,  368-70. 
1883  Harbison,  J.  A.   List  of  irregular  (strong)  verbs  in  Beowulf,  Amer.  Jour. 

o/PM.  IV,  462-77. 
1883  Hoffmann,  A.   Der  bildliche  Ausdruck  im  Beowulf  u.  in  der  Edda,  Engl. 

Stud.  VI,  163-216. 
1886   Bode,  W.   Die  Kenningar  in  der  angelsachsischen  Dichtung.    Darmstadt 

and  Leipzig.     Reviews:   Gummere,   M.L.N,   n,    17-19   (important^— 

praises  Bode  highly);  Kluge,  Engl.  Stud,  x,  117;  Brandl,  D.L.Z.  1887, 

897-8;  Bischoff,  Archiv,  lxxix,  115-6;  Meyer,  A.f.d.A.  xm,  136. 
1886   JKohler,  K.    Der  syntaktische  gebrauch  des  Infinities  und  Particips  im 

Beowulf.   Dissertation,  Miinster. 
1886  Banning,   A.     Die   epischen   Formehi   im   Bfiowulf.     i.    Die   yerbalen 

synonyma.   Dissertation,  Marburg. 


412  Bibliography 

1887   ToLMAN,  A.  H.  The  style  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetry,  Trans.  Mod.  Lang. 

Assoc.  Amer.  ni,  17-47. 
1888-9  Nader,  E.    Tempus  und  modus  im  Beowulf,  Anglia,  x,  542-63;  xi, 

444-99. 
1889  Kail,  J.   tJher  die  Parallelstellen  in  der  Ags.  Poesie,  Anglia,  xn,  21-40. 

(A  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  the  theories  of  Sarrazin.   Important.) 

1891  Davidson,  C.  The  Phonology  of  the  Stressed  Vowels  in  Beowulf,  Pub. 

Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.  Amer.  vi,  106-33.  Review:  Karsten,  Engl.  Stud. 
xvn,  417-20. 

1892  SoNNEFELD,  G.   Stilistisches  und  Wortschatz  im  Beowulf.    Dissertation, 

Strassburg.   Wiirzburg. 

1893  ToDT,  A.   Die  Wortstellung  im  Beowulf,  Anglia,  xvi,  226-60. 

1898  KiSTENMACHER,  R.  Die  wortUchen  Wiederholungen  im  Beowulf.  Dis- 
sertation, Greifswald.  Reviews:  Mead,  J.(£^.)(5^.P^.  ii,  546-7;  Kaluza, 
En{il.  Stud,  xxvn,  121-2  (short  but  valuable). 

1902  Barnotjw,  a.  J.  Textkritische  Untersuchungen  nach  dem  gebrauch  des 
bestimmten  Artikels  und  des  schwachen  Adjektivs  in  der  altenglischen 
Poesie.  Leiden.  (Important,  see  above,  p.  107.)  Reviews:  Kock,  En^L 
Stud,  xxxn,  228-9;  Binz,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxxvi,  269-74;  Schucking,  Got- 
tingische  gelehrte  Anzeigen,  1905,  730-40. 

1902  Heuslee,  a.    Der  dialog  in  der  altgermanisehen  erzahlenden  Dichtung. 

Z.f.d.A.  XLVi,  189-284. 

1903  Shipley,   G.    The   genitive   case   in   Anglo-Saxon   Poetry.     Baltimore. 

Reviews:  Kock,  Engl.  Stud,  xxv,  92-5;  Mourek,  A.f.d.A.  xxx,  172-4. 

1903  Krackow,  0.    Die  Nominalcomposita  als  Kunstmittel  im  altenglischen 

Epos.   Dissertation,  Berlin.   Review:  Bjorkman,  Archiv,  cxvn,  189-90. 

1904  ScHiJCKiNG,  L.   L.     Die  Grundziige  der  Satzverkniipfung  im  Beowulf. 

Pt.  I.  {Morshachs  Studien,  xv.)  Halle.  (Important.)  Reviews: 
Eckhardt,  Engl.  Stud,  xxxvn,  396-7;  Pogatscher,  D.L.Z.  1905,  922-3; 
Behagel,  Literaturblatt,  xxvin,  100-2;  Grossmann,  Archiv,  cxvin, 
176-9. 

1904  Hauschkel,  B.    Die  Technik  der  Erzahlimg  im  Beowulfliede.    Disserta- 

tion, Breslau. 

1905  Krapp,  G.  p.  The  parenthetic  exclamation  in  Old  English  poetry,  M.L.N. 

XX,  33-7. 

1905  Scheinert,  M.    Die  Adjektiva  im  Beowulfepos  als  Darstellungsmittel, 

P.B.B.  XXX,  345-430. 

1906  Thomas,  P.  G.    Notes  on  the  language  of  Beowulf,  M.L.R.  i,  202-7.    (A 

short  summary  of  the  dialectal  forms.) 

1906  Barnouw,  a.  J.    Nochmals  zum  ags.  Gebrauch  des  Artikels,  Archiv, 

cxvii,  366-7. 

1907  RiES,  J.    Die  Wortstellung  im  Beowulf.    Halle.    (An  important  and  ex- 

haustive study  by  an  acknowledged  specialist.)  Reviews:  Binz,  Anglia, 
Beiblatt,  xxn,  65-78  (important);  Borst,  Engl.  Stud,  xui,  93-101; 
Delbriick,  A.f.d.A.  xxxi,  65-76  (important);  Reis,  Literaturblatt, 
xxvin,  328-30;  Lit.  Cbl.  1907,  p.  1474;  Huchon,  Revue  germanique,  in, 
634-8. 

1908  Krauel,  H.    Der  Haken-  und  Langzeilenstil  im  Beowulf.    Dissertation, 

Gottingen. 
1908   LoRS,  A.  Aktionsarten  des  Verbums  im  Beowulf.  Dissertation,  Wiirzburg. 
1908   JMouREK,  E.    Zur  Syntax  des  konjunktivs  im  Beowulf,  Prager  deutsche 

stud.  vm. 
1909-10  Rankin,  J.  W.    A  study  of  the  Kennings  in  Ags.  poetry,  J.E.G.Ph. 

vni,  357-422;  ix,  49-84.    (Latin  parallels;  very  important.) 


Style  and  Grammar:  Metre  413 

1909  Shbarin,  H.  G.  The  expression  of  purpose  in  Old  English  poetry,  An^lia^ 
xxxn,  235-52. 

1909  JRiaoERT,  G.     Der  syntaktische  Gebrauch  des  Infinitivs  in  der  alt- 

engliachen  Poesie.   Dissertation,  Kiel. 

1910  RiCHTEB,  C.    Chronologische  Studien  zur  angekachsischen  Literatur  auf 

gnind    sprachl.-metri8cher    Kriterien.      Halle.      {Morshacha    Studien^ 

xxxm.)    Reviews:  Binz,  Anglian  Beiblatt,  xxn,  78-80;  Imelmann, 

D.L.Z.  1910,  2986-7;  Hecht,  Archiv,  cxxx,  430-2. 
1910  Wagneb,    R.      Die    Syntax    des    Superlativs...im    Beowulf.     Berlin. 

(Palaestra,  xci.)  Reviews:  Schatz, D.L.Z.  1910,  2848-9;  Kock,  A.f.n.F. 

xxvin,  347-9. 
1910  ScHircHARDT,  R.    Die  negation  im  Beowulf.    Berlin.    {Berliner  Beitrdge 

zur  germ.  u.  roman.  Philol.  xxxvm.) 
1912   Bright,  J.  W.    An  Idiom  of  the  Comparative  in  Anglo-Saxon,  M.L.N, 

xxvn,  181-3.    (Bearing  particularly  upon  Beowulf,  69,  70.) 
1912  ExNEB,  P.    Typische  Adverbialbestimmungen  in  friihenglischer  Poesie. 

Dissertation,  Berlin. 

1912  Grimm,  P.    Beitrage  zum  Pluralgebrauch  in  der  altenglischen  Poesie. 

Dissertation,  HaUe. 

1913  Paetzel,  W.   Die  Variationen  in  der  altgermanischen  Alliterationspoesie. 

Berlin.  See  pp.  73-84  for  Beowulf  and  Finnsburg.  {Palaestra^  XLVin.) 
Pt  I.  had  appeared  in  1905  as  a  Berlin  dissertation. 

§10.   METRE 
For  bibliography  of  O.E.  metre  in  general,  see  Pauls  Ordr.{2)f  n,  1022-4. 

1870  ScHFBERT,  H.  De  Anglosaxonum  arte  metrica.  Dissertatio  inauguralis, 
Berolini. 

1884  SiEVERS,  E.  Zur  rhythmik  des  germanischen  alliterationsverses:  i.  Vor- 
bemerkungen.  Die  metrik  des  Beowulf:  n.  Sprachliche  Ergebnisse, 
P.B.B.  X,  209-314  and  451-545.   (Most  important.) 

1894  Kalttza,  M.  Studien  zum  altgermanischen  alliterationsvers.  i.  Kritik 
der  bisherigen  theorien.  ii.  Die  Metrik  des  Beowulfliedes.  (Important.) 
Reviews:  Martin,  Engl.  Stud,  xx,  293-6;  Heusler,  A.f.d.A.  xxi,  313-17; 
Saran,  Z.f.d.Ph.  xxvn,  539-43. 

1905  Trautmann,  M.  Die  neuste  Beowulfausgabe  und  die  altenglische  vers- 
lehre,  Bonner  Beitrdge  zur  Anglistik,  xvn,  175-91.  (A  discussion  of 
O.E.  metre  in  view  of  Holthausen's  edition.)  Review:  Kllaeber,  M.L.N. 
xxn,  252. 

1908  Morgan,  B.  Q.  Zur  lehre  von  der  alliteration  in  der  westgermanischen 
dichtung:  i.  Die  tonverhaltnisse  der  hebungen  im  Beowulf:  n.  Die 
gekreuzte  alliteration;  P.B.B.  xxxin,  95-181. 

1908  BoHLEN,  A.  Zusammengehorige  Wortgruppen,  getrennt  durch  Casur  oder 
Versschluss,  in  der  angelsachsischen  Epik.  Dissertation,  Berlin.  Re- 
views: Dittes,  Anglia,  Beiblatt,  xx,  199-202;  Kroder,  Engl.  Stud,  xl,  90. 

1912  Trautmann,  M.    Zum  altenglischen  Versbau,  Engi..  Stud,  xliv,  303-42. 

1913  Seiffert,  F.    Die  Behandlung  der  Worter  mit  auslautenden  urspriing- 

lich  silbischen  Liquiden  oder  Nasalen  und  mit  Kontraktionsvokalen  in 
der  Genesis  A  imd  im  Beowulf.  Dissertation,  Halle.  (Concludes  the 
dialect  of  the  two  poems  to  be  distinct,  but  finds  no  evidence  on  these 
grounds  which  is  the  earlier.) 

1914  FiJN  VAN  Draat,  p.  The  cursus  in  O.E.  poetry,  Anglia,  xxxvin,  377-404. 
1918   Leonard,  W.  E.    Beowulf  and  the  Niebelungen  couplet,  in  Univ.  of 

Wisconsin  Studies  in  Larvguo/ge  and  Literature,  n,  98-152.    (Important. 
Pp.  123-46  advocating  the  "four-accent  theory.") 
1920   JNeuneb,  E.   Ueber  ein-  und  dreihebige  Halbverse  in  der  altenglischen 
aUiterierenden  Poesie.    Berlin.   Review:  Bright,  3f .2/.^.  xxxvi,  59-63. 


INDEX 


Abingdon,  sheaf  ordeal  at,  83-4,  303 

Adam  of  Bremen,  on  the  Gotar,  339 

^thelbert  of  East  Anglia,  239-43 

Agnerus,  132-3 

Alboin  and  Thurlsind,  281,  282,  285 

Aleester,  Orinddes  pytt  near,  305 

Alcuin,  22,  332 

Aldfrid,  325 

Aldhelm,  331 

Alfsola,  69 

Ali,  see  Onela 

Aliel,  see  Riganus 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  Pedigrees  in, 

72  etc.,  312  etc. 
Archaeology  in    relation   to  Beowulf, 

122  etc.,  345-65 
Asbiom,  186-92 
Athils,  Athislus,  see  Eadgils 
Attila,  funeral  of,  compared  with  that 

of  Beowulf,  124 
Atuarii,  see  Hetware 
Ayres,  Prof.  H.  M.,  on  the  Finnsburg 

story,  266  etc, 

Baldseg,  321 

Baldr,  69 

bana,  270-1 

Battersea,  Gryndeles  sylle  near,  306 

"Bear's-son"  folk-tale,  62  etc.,  369-81 

Beas  broc.  Bias  feld,  310 

Bede,  the  Venerable,  326  etc. 

Bedwig,  303-4 

Beow(a),  Beaw,  10,  42  etc.,  87-8, 
202-3,  291  etc.,  296  etc. 

Beowi,  303 

Beowulf  the  Dane  (Beowulf  Scyld- 
inga),  41  etc.,  88,  92  etc.,  291  etc. 

Beowulf  son  of  Ecgtheow,  king  of  the 
Geatas,  10-13;  his  struggle  with 
Grendel  and  Grendel's  mother, 
41  etc.;  with  the  dragon,  92  etc. ;  his 
funeral  rites,  122  etc.;  etymology 
and  meaning  of  the  name,  365-9 

Beowulf,  suggested  translation  from  a 
Scandinavian  original,  98-104;  dia- 
lect, sjmtax  and  metre  of,  104-12; 
theories  as  to  the  structure  of,  112- 
20;  the  Christian  elements  in,  121-8; 
date  of,  122,  322  etc.,  353  etc.;  pos- 
sible classical  influence  upon,  329 
etc. ;  archaeology  of,  345-65;  division 
into  fittes  or  passus,  294  etc. 

Biar,  7,  45 

Biuuulf,  367 

Bjarkamdl,  26,  264;  Saxo's  Latin 
translation  quoted,  135-6 

Bjarka  rimur,  58,  182-6 


Bjarki,  9,  12,  54-61,  132-6,  138-46^ 

182-6 
Bjarndreingur,  374-5 
BJ0m0re,  377 
Blackburn,   Prof.,   on   the   Christian 

element  in  Beowulf,  125 
Blood-feud,     in     primitive     society,. 

276  etc. 
Boar-helmets,  350-1,  358-9 
Bocus,  26,  135 
Boerinus,  201 
Bothvar  Bjarki,  see  Bjarki 
Bow,  the,  in  Beowulf,  361 
Bradley,  Dr  Henry,  on  the  Christian 

elements  in  Beowulf,  127;  on  Beow 

and  Beowulf  the  Dane,  293  etc.;  on 

the  passus  in  Beowulf,  294-5 
Brusi,  187-92 

Brutus  (Hildebrandus),  222 
Bugge,    Sophus,    on    the    Finnsburg 

story,  257-66 
Burial  mounds,  Scandinavian,  356 
Burials,  122  etc.,  353-5 
Byggvir,  45,  297  etc. 

Cerdic,  his  ancestry,  316  etc. 

Chad  wick.  Prof.  H.  M.,  on  the  date  of 

Beowulf,  122,  353  etc. 
Chatuarii,  see  Hetware 
Chochilaicus,  2,  3 
Christianity    of  .  Beowulf,     121     etc.y 

322  etc.. 
Cities  of  Refuge,  276-7 
Clyst,  river,  44,  310 
Creedy,  the,  Orendeles  pyt  near,  305 
Crying  the  Neck,  82-3,  302 
Cynethryth,  37  etc. 

Dan,  king  of  the  Danes,  129,  204 

Danes,  first  mentioned  soon  after 
A.D.  500,  14;  their  early  kings,  13- 
31;  their  early  history  as  recorded 
in  Saxo,  129-37;  in  the  Little 
Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Leire,. 
204—6;  in  Sweyn  Aageson,  211; 
their  relation  to  the  English,  314  ete. 

Date  of  Beowulf,  122,  322  etc.,  353  etc. 

Dialect  of  Beowulf,  104 

Dorestad,  259,  288-9 

Dragons,  not  extinct  in  1649,  1] 
(note);  Frotho's  dragon,  92  ete. 
1 30-1 ;  the  Vendsyssel  dragon,  1 9^ 

Dunstan,  332 

Drida,  36  etc. ;  238-43;  see  also  Thryt 

Eadgils  (Athils,  Athislus),  5-8;  \i 
186,  356 


Index 


415 


Eaha,  246 

lOanmund,  5 

i:dda  of  Snorri,  69 

l^lngelhardt,  on  the  Moss-finds,  345  etc. 

Eomaer  (Earner),  31,  197-8 

Eotan,  Eote,  see  Jutes 

Eotenas,  part  played  by  them  in  the 

Finnsburg  Episode,  249  etc. ;  260  etc. ; 

283  etc. 
Eric,  jarl,  277,  278 
Esthonian  cult  of  Pekko,  299  etc. 
Ethelwerd,  70  etc.,  202,  318  etc. 

Fahlbeck,  Pontus,  his  Jute-theory,  8, 

333  etc. 
Faroe  "Bear's-son"  tale,  375-6 
ferM-freca,  276 
Fifeldor,  35,  Tiote 
Finn,    son    of    Folcwald,    199,    200, 

248  etc.,  253-4,  283  etc.,  289 
Finnsburg,  the  story  of,  245-89;  site 

of,  259 
Florence  of  Worcester,  8 
Folcwald(a),  199 
Frealaf,  321 
Freawaru,     daughter     of     Hrothgar, 

21  etc.,  282 
Frisia  in  the  Heroic  Age,  288-9 
Froda  (Frothi,  Frotho),  21,  24-5,  211, 

282 
Frotho  and  the  dragon,  92-7,  130-1 
Frowinus,  33-4 
Funeral  rites,  see  Burials 

Garulf,    his    part   in    the    Finnsburg 

story,  246-7;  283  etc.,  287 
Gautar,  see  Geatas 
Geatas  (O.N.  Gautar),  2,  8-10,  333-45; 

their   kings,    2-13;    boundaries    of 

their  territory,  339 
Gefwulf,  286-7 
Genealogies,  311  etc. 
Giovanni  dell'  Orso,  371 
Glam,  48,  147  etc.,  164  etc. 
Godulf,  200 
Gotar,  see  Geatas 
Gokstad  ship,  363-4 
Gold  in  the  Heroic  Age,  348  etc. 
Gram  Guldkolve,  192,  194 
Grandels  mor  in  Transsylvania,  308 
grandi,  309 
Greek    scholarship    in    Anglo-Saxon 

times,  329 
Gregory  of  Tours,  his  account  of  the 

death  of  Hygelac,  3-4,  9,  342 
Grendel,   41    etc.;   occurrence   of  the 

name  in  English  charters,  305-6; 

etymology,  309-10 
Orendles  mere,  43-4,  306 
Grettir  Asmundarson,  48  etc.,  162-62, 

169-82 


Orettis  Saga,  162;  extracts  from,  146- 

62;   translation,    162-82;   death  of 

Illugi,  280 
Grimm's  story  of  Der   Starke  Hans, 

370 
Grindale  village,  308 
Grindle    or    Greendab.^  brook,    near 

Exeter,  44,  309 
grundel,  309 
Grundtvig,  his  identification  of  Chochi- 

laicus,  4 
Guest  (Gestr),  see  Grettir 
Gullinhjalti,  141,  146 
Guthlaf,  246-7,  252,  267,  285 

Haki,  68-9 

Halga  (Helgi,  Helgo),  14  etc.,  132,  205, 

211 
Hall,  Dr  Clark,  on  the  archaeology  of 

Beowulf,  346  etc. 
Hall,  the,  in  Beowulf,  361 
Ham,  Orendles  mere  near,  43-4,  306 
Hamlet    (Amlethus),    39;    Hengest's 

hesitation    compared    to    that    of 

Shakespeare's  Hamlet,  266 
Hans,  der  starke,  370 
Harold  Fairhair  and  the  Gautar,  340 
Harvest  customs,  81  etc. 
heaburh,  259  note 
Healfdene    (Halfdan,    Haldanus),    14 

etc.,  131,205,  211 
Heardred,  slain  by  Onela,  5,  13 
Heathobeardan,  20  etc.,  244 
Hendon,  "Grendels  gate"  near,  306-7 
Hengest,  246,  250  etc.,  284  etc. 
Henry  (Henrik)  slays  a  dragon,  192-5 
Heorogar,  14,  287 
Heorot,  13-20;  see  also  Leire 
Heoroweard  (HjgrvarSr,  Hiarwarus), 

14,  15,  29-30,  134-7,  205-6,  277 
Heremod,  89  etc. 
Hermuthruda,  39 
Heruli,  identified  by  some  wdth  the 

Heathobeardan,  24 
Hetware  (Atuarii),  2-3 
Hiarthwarus,  Hiarwarus,  see  Heoro- 
weard 
Hickes,    his    text   of    the    Finnsburg 

Fragment,  245-6 
Hildebrandus,     another     name     for 

Brutus,  q.v. 
Hildeburh,  248  etc. 
Hjalti  (Hott),  55  etc.,  132  etc.,  138-46, 

182-6 
Hnsef,  247  etc.,  283  etc. 
Hocingas,  249 
Hott,  see  Hjalti 
Hrethric,    25-7,    135    (Roricus),    211 

(Rokil) 
Hrothgar  (Hroarr,  Roe),  14  ete.,  132, 

204.  244 


416 


Index 


Hrothulf    (Rolf   Kraki,    Roluo),    15, 

25-9,  132-7,  139-46,  205-6,  244= 
Hugleikr,  323 
Huglek,  323 
Humblus,  129 
Hunlafing,  252,  267,  283 
Hygelac,  death  of,  2-4 

lalto,  see  Hjalti 

Icelandic  "Bear's-son"  tale,  374r-5 

lUugi,  see  Grettis  Saga 

Ingeld,  son  of  Froda,  21  etc.,  244,  282, 

284-5 
Intercourse  between  tribes  in  Heroic 

Age,  348  etc. 
Ivashko  Medvedko,  372-4 

Jean  I'Ourson,  378-9 

Jenny  Greenteeth,  307 

Jomsvikings,  278 

Jovial    huntsmen,    the    Three,    their 

views,  310 
Jutes,  attempt  to  identify  them  with 

the  Geatas,  8-10,  333-45;  Jutes  and 

Eotenas,  261  etc.,  272  etc. 
Jutland,  "Bear's-son"  tale  in,  377 

Kdlfsvisa,  7,  45 

Kemble,    his    mythological    theories, 

291  etc. 
Keto,  33-4 
Klaeber,  on  the  Christian  element  in 

Beowulf,  126 

Lawrence,  Prof.  W.  W.,  on  mythology 

in   Beowulf,   43   etc.,   291   etc.;   on 

Finnsburg,  270  etc. 
Laxdaela  Saga,  parallels  from,  278-9 
Leifus,  252,  note 
Leire,  16  etc.,  134,  204,  211,  216,  365; 

see  also  Heorot 
Leire,  Little  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of, 

extracts  from,  204-6 
Lethra,  see  Leire 
Liber  Historiae  Francorum,  account  of 

the  death  of  Chochilaicus  (Hygelac) 

in,  3 
"Lichtenheld's  Test,"  105  etc. 
Loka^enna  quoted,  297-9 
Loki,  297-9 

Lombardstory  of  the  "  Bear's-son,"  371 
Longobardi,  relation  to  the  Heatho- 

beardan,  23;  311;  see  also  Alboin 
Lother(us),  89  etc.,  129 

Malmesbury,  WiUiam  of,  see  William 

of  Malmesbury 
Mercian  genealogy,  195-8 
Milio,  220 

Minstrelsy  forbidden  to  priests,  332 
Mitunnus,  218  etc. 


MoUer,  on  Finnsburg,  254r-l 
Monsters  and  Strange  Beasts,  account 

of  Hygelac  in  the  Book  of  {Liber 

Monstrorum),  4,  339 
"Morsbachs  Test,"  107-12 
Moss-finds,  345  etc. 
MiiUenhoff's    theories    on    Beowulf, 

113  etc.,  292  etc. 
Myrgingas,  31-2,  244 
Mythology  in  Beowulf,  46  etc.,  291  etc. 

Neck,  see  Crying  the  Neck 

Neckersgate,  307 

Njdls  Saga,  parallels  from,  271,  277, 

280-1 
Norka,  the,  371-2 
North  Frisians,  249,  note,  273 
Northumbrian  anarchy  in  the  eighth 

century,  324 
Norwegian     folk- tale     ("Bear's-son" 

type),  376-7 
Nydam,  345  etc. 
Nydam  boat,  362-3 

Odyssey,  parallels  with  Beoioulf,  329 
OfEa  I,  king  of  Angel,  31^0,  197-8, 

206-15,  217-35,  244 
Off  a  II,  36  etc.,  235-^3 
Ohthere,  5,  343    etc. ;    see   also    Ottar 

Vendel-crow 
Onela,  5-8,  184-6 
Ongentheow,  4-5,  8 
Ordlaf  (Oslaf),  246,  252,  267,  285,  287 
Origin  of  the  English,  314  etc. 
Orm  Storolfsson,  53,  186-92 
Oseberg  ship,  363-4 
Oslaf,  see  Ordlaf 
Oswin,  king,  324  etc. 
Oswiu,  king,  325 
Otta,  220 
Ottar  Vendelcrow,  his  mound,  343-5, 

356;  see  also  Ohthere 

Panzer,  his  derivation  of  the  story  of 
Beowulf  from  the  "Bear's-son" 
folk-tale,  67-8,  369-81 

passus  of  Beowulf,  294  etc. 

Peg  o'  Nell,  307 

Peg  Powler,  307 

Pekko,  87,  299  etc. 

Pellon-Pecko,  see  Pekko 

Peter  Bar,  378 

Pinefredus,  see  Offa  II 

Procopius,  mentions  the  Goutai  (Gea- 
tas), 8-9,  338 

Riganus  (or  Aliel),  21S  etc. 
Ring-corslets,  351,  360 
Ring-money,  351-2 
Ring-swords,  349  etc. 
Roe,  see  Hrothgar 


Index 


417 


Rokil,  see  Hrethric 

Roricus,  see  Hrethric 

Rolf  Kraki,  Saga  of,  16,  55  etc.;  ex- 
tract from,  138-46;  quoted  in  illus- 
tration of  the  Finnsburg  story,  281, 
282 

Rolf  Kraki,  see  Hrothulf 

Roluo,  see  Hrothulf 

Roskilde,  18,  132,  204 

Runkoteivas,  300 

Russian  variants  of  the  "Bear's-son" 
story,  371-4 

Ruta,  133 

Sampsa,  84-5,  300 

Saga  of  Rolf  Kraki,  see  Rolf  Kraki, 

Saga  of 
Sandhaugar,  48,  66,  156-62,  175-82 
Saxo  Grammaticus,  16;  his  story  of 

Starcatherus,  22-3;  of  Roricus,  26; 

of  Hiarwarus,  30;  of  Uffo  (OfEa), 

32-3;  of  Biarco  (Bjarki),  57  etc.;  of 

Skyoldus,  77;  of  Lotherus,  89  etc.; 

of  Frotho,  91   etc.;  on  cremation, 

123 ;  extracts  from,  129-37,  206-1 1 ; 

on  text  of,  215-16;  282 
Sceaf,  68-86,  200-3,  302  etc.,  311  etc. 
Sceafa,  311 

Scenery  of  Beoumlf,  101 
Schiicking,  Prof.,  on  the  structure  of 

Beovmlf,   117-20;   on  the   date   of 

Beowulf,  322  etc. 
Schiitte,  on  the  Geatas,  8,  333  eic. 
Sculda,  133-4,  204-5 
Scyld,  68-86,  201-4,  303,  314  etc. 
Secgan,  269,  286 
Setukese,  301 
Sheaf,  see  Sceaf 
Shield,  see  Scyld 
Shield,   the,    in   Anglo-Saxon   times, 

360-1 
Ships,  362-4 

Sigeferth,  246-7,  269,  286,  287 
Sigmund,  91 
Sigurd  Ring,  69 
Sinfjotli,  his  foul  language,  28 
Skeggjatussi,  375 

Skjold  (Skyoldus),  71  etc.,  130,  211 
Skjoldunga  Saga,  account  of  Adilsus 

(Eadgils)    in,    7;    of    Rolf    Kraki 

(Hrothulf),    16    etc.;    quoted,    69, 

252  note 
Spear,  the,  in  Anglo-Saxon  times,  360 
Starkad  (Starcatherus),  22-3 
Steenklower,  Stenhuggeren,  380 
Stein,  49,  66,  156-62,  175-82;  380 
Steinspieler,  380 
Steinv9r,  157-62,  175-82 
Stjema,  Knut,  on  the  funeral  customs 

of  Beoumlf,  124;  on  Ottar  Vendel- 

crow,  343-5;  on  the  archaeology  of 

Beoumlf,  346  etc. 


Sueno,  222 

Svold,  battle  of,  277 

Sweden,  kings  of,  4-8;  see  Eadgils, 

Ohthere,  Onela,  Ongentheow 
Sweyn  Aageson,  his  account  of  UfiEo 

(Offa),  33;  extract  from,  211-15;  216 
Swinford,  Orendels  mere  near,  306 
Swords  in  Beoumlf  a,nd  in  Anglo-Saxon 

grave-finds,  357 

Ten    Brink's    theories    on    Beoumlf, 

113  etc. 
Theodoric,  king  of  the  Franks,  3 
Thorgaut,  150  etc.,  167  etc. 
ThorhaU  Grimsson,  14&-56,  163-74 
Thorsbjerg,  345  etc. 
Thryth,  37  etc.,  238-43 
Tours,    Gregory    of,    see   Gregory   of 

Tours 

Uffo,  see  Offa 
UU,  303 
Unferth,  27-30 
Ursula,  205 

Vendel  finds,  347  etc, 

Vendsyssel,  dragon  of,  192-5 

Virgil,    possible    influence    of,    upon 

Beowulf,  329  etc. 
Vitae  dux)rum  Off  arum,  34  etc.,  217-43 
Vglsunga  Saga,  parallels  from,  275, 
286 

Wader  Oar  and  Wader  Fiord,  342 

Warmundus,  see  Wermundus 

Weak  and  strong  forms  of  heroic  names 

used  alternatively,  311 
Wealhtheow,  her  forebodings,  25 
Weapons  in  Beowulf,  357-61 
Wederas,  name  applied  to  the  Geatas, 

342 
Wener,  Lake,  9,  342 
wer-gild,  277 
Wermund,    32    etc.,    197-8,    206-15, 

217-26 
West-Saxon  genealogy,  72  etc.,  198- 

201,  311  etc. 
Widsith,  accoimt  of  the  Heathobear- 

dan  in,  20  etc.;  of  Hrothulf,  25;  of 

Oflfa,  31 ;  of  Sceafa,  80;  extract  from, 

243-4;  286;  338 
Wiggo,  133-7,  264-5 
Wigo,  33-4 

Wijk  bij  Duurstede,  see  Dorestad 
William  of  Malmesbury,  70  etc.,  203, 

302 
Woden's  ancestors,  311  etc. 

Ynglinga  tal  and  Ynglinga  Saga,  5-7, 

68-9,  344 
Yte,  see  Jutes 
Ytene,  8,  337 


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